The historic rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which dates back to 1884, is currently taking center stage in a weekend series at Busch Stadium in early May 2026. The Cardinals and Dodgers are two of the most successful franchises in the National League, having combined for 20 World Series titles, and the Cardinals currently hold a slight edge in their all-time head-to-head record with 1,127 wins to the Dodgers' 1,096.In the opening game of their current series on May 1, 2026, the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 7-2. St. Louis starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore earned his first win of the season, pitching 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and allowing two earned runs. The Cardinals' offense was explosive, capitalized by Jordan Walker, who had a perfect 4-for-4 night at the plate with two doubles, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Additional offensive power came from Nolan Gorman, who hit a two-run home run following a balk by Dodgers pitcher Emmett Sheehan, and Alec Burleson, who added a solo home run down the right-field line. Sheehan ultimately took the loss for Los Angeles. The Dodgers' offense struggled to keep up, managing their only runs via a Max Muncy RBI double and a Kyle Tucker sacrifice fly.The two teams are scheduled to face each other again on May 2, 2026. The pitching matchup will feature Roki Sasaki for the Dodgers and Michael McGreevy for the Cardinals. Going into the game, the Dodgers hold a 20-12 record, while the Cardinals sit at 19-13. Despite playing away at Busch Stadium—which historically favors pitchers slightly with a 98 Park Factor metric—the Dodgers are the betting favorites on the moneyline (-176), though some predictive models give the Cardinals a 52% chance of securing another victory. The over/under for the matchup is set at 8.5 runs.The Dodgers enter this matchup dealing with a heavily depleted roster. Los Angeles has several key players on the injured list, including star shortstop Mookie Betts, who has no timetable to return from a strained oblique, and utility player Tommy Edman, who is out until at least late May recovering from ankle surgery. Edman's absence is particularly notable in this rivalry, as he was traded from the Cardinals to the Dodgers during the 2024 season and went on to win the NLCS MVP during the Dodgers' World Series championship run that year. The Los Angeles bullpen is also severely impacted, missing key arms like Edwin Díaz, Brusdar Graterol, and Evan Phillips due to various surgeries and injuries.

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