The Los Angeles Dodgers will rely on its ace to try and slow down the St. Louis Cardinals in the third game of a four-game set at Dodger Stadium Saturday night

St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis has tallied 82 hits over its last five games and star slugger Albert Pujols has been getting in on the fun with three home runs and four RBIs in the last two contests.  “It is indicative of the type of offense that we are capable of having,” said Lance Berkman.  “It is historic.  It is nice and we will try and extend it as long as we can, but we realize we have a lot of games to play.”  Spanning the past five games, Berkman has six home runs in his last 19 at-bats.  In their five games since Monday, the Cardinals have hit 13 homers and scored 51 runs.  St. Louis is 55-53 against left-handed starters the past three years.

Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle McClellan has led the club to two wins in his first two starts this year and will be making his 11th career appearance (first start) against the Dodgers on Saturday.  The converted reliever has posted a 1.69 ERA in those outings against Los Angeles, including three scoreless innings on the road.  McClellan has compiled a 3-8 record and 3.56 ERA in 106 career appearances (one start) on the road in his career, allowing batters to hit for a .269 average.  Interestingly enough, the right-hander is allowing lefties to hit just .217 against him, while right-handed batters are hitting for a .381 average.

Los Angeles has dropped to two games under .500 with its losses to St. Louis and has managed to hit just eight home runs all season.  The Dodgers have been getting good offensive production from outfielders Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, but first baseman James Loney is hitting just .170 on the season.  Ethier is riding a 12-game hitting streak, while Kemp has five hits and three RBIs in the series.  Los Angeles is 141-117 in night games and 10-13 after allowing 10 or more runs the past three years.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw will be making his fourth start of the 2011 campaign after setting career highs and leading the teams in wins (13) and strikeouts (212) last year.  The left-hander is 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA in the early going, issuing just four walks while tallying 24 strikeouts.  In six career starts versus the Cardinals, Kershaw is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA.  He made two starts against the Redbirds during the 2010 season, going 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA.  The 23-year-old starter has compiled a 14-11 record and 2.76 ERA in 45 career starts at Dodger Stadium, holding opponents to a .212 batting average.

Bettors may elect to back the Cardinals due to their 19-7 record against the National League West, while the Dodgers are 1-6 in their last seven games versus right-handed starters.