The St. Louis Cardinals (69-57) will try to stay hot and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers (67-59) for the fourth consecutive time on Tuesday when they visit them again as large road underdogs at the sportsbooks.The Cardinals won the series opener 5-3 on Monday to earn their third straight victory against the Dodgers and 11th in 13 games overall after losing six of the previous seven meetings Andy Pettitte Jersey , according to the OddsShark MLB Database.MLB betting line: The Dodgers opened as -155 favorites (wager $155 to win $100); the total is at eight runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 4.0-0.6, Dodgers (MLB picks on every game)Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news. Why the Cardinals can pay on the MLB linesSt. Louis is playing as well as any team in baseball right now and has passed Los Angeles in the National League standings. If the postseason started today, the Dodgers would not be in the playoff field, and the Cardinals would like to keep it that way since they are in direct competition with them for one of the two wild-card spots.Rookie pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon (0-0, 2.04 ERA) will make his second career start, and he was nearly perfect in his first back on July 23 against the Cincinnati Reds. In that road game at Cincinnati, the 26-year-old threw seven hitless innings en route to a 2-1 win, walking three and striking out three on 116 total pitches. So the potential is there. Why the Dodgers can pay on the MLB linesLos Angeles got great news before Monday's game when it was announced that closer Kenley Jansen is back from an irregular heartbeat with no restrictions. The Dodgers struggled without Jansen, going 4-7 in the 11 games he missed and falling out of first place in the NL West.Despite losing the series opener Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey , they also have to be happy with how Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-0, 1.77 ERA) pitched after returning from a groin injury. The 31-year-old threw six scoreless innings in a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants last Wednesday, scattering three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He had not pitched since May 2. Smart betting pickEven though the price is a bit high on Los Angeles in this spot, the right team is favored with a much more experienced starting pitcher on the mound. The Dodgers simply cannot afford to lose here, so look for them to bounce back with a big victory Tuesday. MLB betting trendsThe total has gone under in four of St. Louis' last six games.The total has gone under in 15 of Los Angeles' last 23 games.The total has gone under in four of Los Angeles' last five games when playing St. Louis. All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app. ST. LOUIS (AP) — In a pivotal series for the Dodgers, rookie Walker Buehler came through with a masterful performance.Buehler allowed two hits in eight innings, Yasiel Puig homered twice and Los Angeles drew even with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race with a 3-0 victory on Friday night. The Dodgers also moved within one-half game of first-place Colorado in the NL West.Buehler (7-5) pitched beyond the seventh inning for the first time and earned his first victory since Aug. 17. He retired the first 13 batters before Paul DeJong singled to left field. Harrison Bader singled later in the fifth for the Cardinals’ only other hit.“This was probably the best pitching performance of the year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Not only Walker but across the board. Against a very good club in St. Louis on the road and obviously what’s at stake right now for each game. He wanted this moment and just coming out firing. His command. Just domination. He kind of did what he wanted to do tonight.”Buehler struck out nine and walked two. In two career starts against St. Louis, the right-hander has not allowed a run and has 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.“He’s got some serious weapons,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s throwing 97-98 (mph), with command. When you can locate your fastball http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-nolan-ryan-jersey , regardless of velocity, that’s a nice weapon. Then you do it with that velocity and then you do it with some cut. And his cutter, at least from the side, it looked like it had some depth. Then second time through the lineup, start mixing in a changeup and hitting with that, that’s a pretty potent weaponry right there.”The Dodgers and Cardinals are tied for the second NL wild-card position, four games behind Milwaukee for the top spot. But Los Angeles has its sights on the division crown and moved closer when the Rockies lost to San Francisco.“Sometimes there’s teams you match up well against,” Buehler said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s just the way the game works and luckily tonight that worked out.”Puig homered in the second off Jack Flaherty (8-7) and connected again in the ninth off Tyler Webb. It was his second multi-homer game of the season.“I was trying to do my best,” Puig said through a translator. “He threw a fastball there and I was able to connect with it. I can hit lefties sometimes and right there I was trying to find something up in the zone. I wasn’t expecting a home run but it happened.”In the seventh, Cody Bellinger scored on a passed ball by Yadier Molina.Kenley Jansen hit Yairo Munoz with a pitch to open the ninth but retired the next three batters to finish the two-hitter, earning his 35th save in 39 opportunities.Flaherty worked six innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He has 168 strikeouts this season http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-yuli-gurriel-jersey , the fourth-best total for a rookie in franchise history.“We want to win. I don’t care about my line. I don’t care about anything other than winning,” Flaherty said. “It doesn’t matter how I pitched, I didn’t pitch well enough. He pitched better than I did.”TRAINER’S ROOMDodgers: Relievers John Axford and Tony Cingrani were scheduled to pitch in the California Championship Series for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday night. “They’re stacking the deck, trying to help them make their playoff push,” Roberts joked. “They’re supposed to go an inning each. We’ll see how they come out of it. Our hope is to get these guys back.” Axford could return to the majors after one appearance, while Cingrani (shoulder) would likely need more rehab work.Cardinals: IF Jedd Gyorko is likely to return to the starting lineup Saturday, manager Mike Shildt said. He drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Adolis Garcia.UP NEXTThe Cardinals send right-hander John Gant (7-5, 3.16 ERA) to the mound Saturday afternoon to make his third career appearance and first start against Los Angeles. Veteran lefty Rich Hill (8-5, 3.88) starts for the Dodgers.