Los Angeles @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2018 ) LA Dodgers 3, St. Louis 0

With red-hot Colorado holding them off for the time being atop the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to force their way into the playoff picture via the wild-card route and find themselves on the verge of controlling their destiny again. The Dodgers can do exactly that Saturday as they visit St. Louis for the third contest of a four-game set against the Cardinals.

Los Angeles gave away the division lead to Colorado on Sept. 3 and has been unable to get it back as the Rockies have won nine of 13 games in September. The Dodgers (81-67) have found a path of lesser resistance in St. Louis, taking advantage of one of Manny Machado's best games since his arrival in Thursday's 9-7 victory before Yasiel Puig blasted two homers to back eight dominant innings from rookie Walker Buehler in Friday's 3-0 win to draw even with the Cardinals for the NL's final wild-card slot. After winning 22 of its 28 games in August, St. Louis (81-67) has dropped three straight to fall to 5-8 in September. Paul DeJong had one of the Cardinals' two hits in their shutout loss to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Rich Hill (8-5, 3.88 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH John Gant (7-5, 3.16)

Hill has managed to log only one quality start in his last four trips to the mound, but he is 3-1 over that stretch because the Dodgers have scored at least nine runs in each of his victories and he has posted 30 strikeouts versus two walks. The Boston native earned his second straight win Sunday in Colorado, giving up four runs on four hits while fanning seven over five innings. Yadier Molina is 0-for-8 with three walks in his career against Hill, who is 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA in seven games (six starts) versus St. Louis.

Gant hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last seven outings, including Sunday's win at Detroit in which he permitted two runs and struck out six across 6 2/3 innings. Control has been a problem at times for the 26-year-old, as he issued five free passes in two of his previous four outings and has walked 47 over 102 2/3 innings overall this season. Gant will be making his first career start versus the Dodgers after allowing one run in 2 2/3 relief frames against them in 2016.

WALK-OFFS

1. Machado needs one more RBI to reach 500 for his career and become the 36th youngest player (26 years, 71 days old on Saturday) to do so.

2. St. Louis is 72-34 this season when it hits at least one home run and 9-33 when it fails to do so.

3. Los Angeles has homered in 22 consecutive games - two shy of the franchise record set in 1953 and the longest such streak in the majors this season.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Dodgers 4