TST Best Bets: September 3, 2026
Nick Wire
Host · Writer
The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to avoid a series sweep tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis won the first two games of the series in a slugfest, scoring 21 runs in two games and combining for 35 runs total.
Left fielder Thomas Saggese has been sensational in this series for the Cardinals, going 4-for-7 with six RBIs, five runs and three home runs. He also hit the go-ahead single in the 10th inning of last night’s game.
The Dodgers’ offensive output has been nothing to scoff at either though, as they’ve scored 14 runs in the first two games. Mookie Betts led the way, going 4-for-9 with two runs, six RBIs, three doubles, a home run and two walks.
Tarik Skubal will get the start tonight for the Dodgers as they look to stabilize the mound. Skubal is 8-7 with a 2.84 ERA in 126.2 innings. Since being traded from the Detroit Tigers on Aug 1, Skubal has pitched 30 innings for the Dodgers over five appearances. In that span, he’s given up 11 runs, giving him an ERA of 3.30.
Cardinals’ #7 prospect Quinn Mathews will take the mound opposite Skubal. Matthews made his MLB debut on Aug 1 and has since delivered a mixed bag of results. In three of his four starts thus far, he has an ERA of 2.45, giving up four runs in 14.2 combined innings. However, his ERA rocketed to 5.03 after a brutal outing on Aug 22 against the Philadelphia Phillies, in which he gave up seven runs on 10 hits in five innings.
Matthews’ most recent start was the longest of his young career, as he threw 5.2 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and gave up one run.
First Pick: Mookie Betts over 0.5 hits
Rundown: There is a two-pronged approach to this bet. First, Mookie Betts is hitting the ball extremely well right now. He has hits in 11 of his last 12 games, including hits in nine games in a row. He’s doubled in each of his last three games and he has multiple hits in each game this series.
Second, Betts is facing a rookie who has shown struggles against elite offense. Betts’ career split is slightly better against lefties (.288 vs .287) and his home run pace is equal (227 vs 228) adjusted for at-bats.
Second Pick: Tarik Skubal over 18.5 outs recorded
Rundown: Skubal needs to go 6.1 innings to make this work, which he’s only done once in his short Dodgers tenure. However, the last time Skubal faced the Cardinals as a Tiger in 2025, he gave up three runs his 5.2 innings. The 2025 Cardinals were led by Nolan Arenado, who homered off of Skubal in that game. Arenado is no longer a Cardinal. Aside from Arenado, Skubal handled the Cardinals relatively easily.
