The Cardinals (18-13) are coming off a four-game sweep of the Pirates (16-16) as St. Louis prepares to face the Dodgers (20-11) who had a day off after two consecutive losses to the Miami Marlins (15-16).
Los Angeles scored three total runs in the last two games and dropped both to Miami. Luckily, the Dodgers’ pitching staff has been on fire. Over the last seven days, Los Angeles ranks third in ERA (2.20) and are tied fourth in OBA (.204). However, the offense has two home runs over the past five games, which is more than only the Athletics (1).
St. Louis followed up a four-game losing streak with a four-game winning streak ahead of this matchup. The Cardinals outscored the Pirates 30-18 in their previous series. St. Louis has hit the most home runs (14) over the last seven days and the seventh-best batting average (.278).
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Dodgers at Cardinals
- Date: Friday, May 1, 2026
- Time: 8:15 PM EST
- Site: Busch Stadium
- City: St. Louis, MO
- Network/Streaming: MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Dodgers at the Cardinals
The latest odds as of Friday:
- Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers (-181), St. Louis Cardinals (+149)
- Spread: Cardinals +1.5 (-115), Dodgers -1.5 (-105)
- Total: 8.0
Probable starting pitchers for Dodgers at Cardinals
- Friday’s pitching matchup (May 1): Emmet Sheehan vs. Matthew Liberatore
- Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan
2026 stats: 26.1 IP, 2-0, 4.78 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 28 Ks, 9 BB
- Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore
2026 Stats: 30.1 IP, 0-1, 4.75 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 19 Ks, 11 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not!
- The Cardinals’ Jordan Walker is hitting .284 with 33 hits and 64 total bases over 116 at-bats
- The Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman is hitting .223 with 23 hits and 33 strikeouts over 103 at-bats
- The Dodgers’ Andy Pages is hitting .321 with 36 hits and 58 total bases over 112 at-bats
- The Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker is hitting .241 with 28 hits and 29 strikeouts over 116 at-bats
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Dodgers at Cardinals
- The Cardinals are 19-12 ATS this season, ranking sixth-best
- The Dodgers are 15-16 ATS this season
- The Cardinals are 17-13 to the Over this season
- The Dodgers are 17-14 to the Under this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Dodgers and the Cardinals
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between the Dodgers and the Cardinals.
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Dodgers on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Dodgers at -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 8.0
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