St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, 9/3/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026

Location: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum SportsNet LA

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+120) Los Angeles (-144)

Dodger Stadium is the site where the Los Angeles Dodgers (82-56) will try to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals (69-70) on Thursday. The line on this matchup has the Cardinals at +120 while the Dodgers are coming in at -144. The total is set at 9. The expected starting pitchers will be Quinn Mathews and Tarik Skubal.

As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are compiling 4.5 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 17th in the league. They have a total of 623 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .316. The Cardinals have hit 195 doubles as a team and have hit 148 balls out of the park. They have 605 RBI's as well as 1,128 base knocks over the course of the season, and their team batting average comes in at .241. St. Louis has a slugging percentage of .384 and have struck out 1,091 times, while being walked on 444 occasions.

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The Cardinals hold a team ERA of 4.24 this year (20th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 1,092 batters. Cardinals pitchers have yielded 138 long balls and also 633 total runs (19th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 470 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 4.07 as a unit on the year. St. Louis has conceded 1,195 base hits (8.7 per 9 innings) and also 584 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.32 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.34.

The Cardinals have dispatched 467 relievers to the hill this season. The relief pitchers have inherited 211 base runners for the year and 38.9% of them ended up crossing the plate. The bullpen have a total of 89 holds over the course of the season (5th in MLB). Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on 141 times and also have had 168 appearances in high leverage situations. They have tallied 40 saves this year and have blown 24 of their 64 chances to save the game. The Cardinals bullpen have a save percentage of 62.5% and have stepped onto the mound in 157 save situations.

The St. Louis Cardinals have notched a total of 3,717 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,288 assists and 58 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .989 which has them ranked 4th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 134 double plays. The Cardinals have converted 69.1% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 11,151 innings on the field, which has them ranked 25th in baseball.

Matthews (1-2 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 5.08 and he has faced 89 hitters in the major leagues. He has surrendered 23 base hits (10.8 hits per 9 innings) and has had 8 walks. His ERA is 5.16 (11 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.615. Matthews has taken the ball for 19 innings and has tallied 20 strikeouts so far in his MLB career.

The Dodgers hold a team SLG% of .421 and they score 4.91 runs per outing (4th in MLB). They have recorded 225 doubles, while walking 515 times as well as notching 678 runs. Los Angeles is sitting with 169 HRs on the season to go along with 640 runs batted in. They have struck out on 1,083 instances (27th in MLB) and have recorded 1,198 base hits. The Los Angeles Dodgers have compiled a team on-base percentage of .335 in addition to a team batting average of .257 on the year.

The Dodgers are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.161 in addition to having a FIP of 3.89 as a staff for the year. They are sitting at 1st in MLB as a staff in total hits surrendered with 989. The Los Angeles pitching staff have given up 530 runs on the season while holding a team ERA of 3.69 (500 earned runs given up). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 9.30 (1,259 strikeouts vs 428 walks). They have surrendered 156 homers and they concede 3.91 runs per 9 innings (4th in baseball).

They rank 14th in baseball with a save rate of 66.7%, and they have sent 450 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond over the course of the season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 147 times in high leverage situations and also on 98 occasions with base runners. With 146 save situations, the Dodgers have amassed 88 holds in addition to 19 blown saves. Los Angeles has called on relief pitchers to take the mound in 57 save chances and they have earned 38 saves. Los Angeles bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 34.8% out of their 158 inherited base runners.

In 10,986 innings on the diamond, the Dodgers hold a defensive efficiency of 72.5% (1st in pro baseball). The Los Angeles Dodgers have turned 75 double plays and have a fielding rate of .989 (3rd in MLB). The Dodgers have accrued 1,109 assists, 54 errors and are sitting with 3,662 putouts so far this season.

Skubal (55-39 mark in his career) holds a 3.07 earned run average and has conceded 7.2 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.17 and he has faced 3,177 hitters during his career. He has conceded a total of 272 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.026 and having a FIP of 3.0. So far in his pro baseball career, Skubal has surrendered 638 hits while he has earned 926 strikeouts in 796 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Louis (+120)

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