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The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are baseball's biggest brand, but that brand is sporting a Band-Aid this season.

The Cardinals host the Dodgers at 7:15 p.m. Friday in the opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.

Los Angeles leads the majors in runs, hits, homers and on-base plus slugging percentage. Pitching, however, has been an issue. LA ranks 22nd in team ERA, largely due to a rash of injuries.

Numerous Dodgers pitchers are on the injured list including Tyler Glasnow, the team's most valuable starter a year ago, as well as Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

The injuries haven't been limited to the rotation. Key relievers Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech are also hurt, among others.

"It's like a game of Whac-A-Mole, and things keep popping up, and we're doing the best we can to hit them down and keep our guys in a good spot to win as many games as we can," president of baseball operations .

One of those injury reinforcements, left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1, 8.00 ERA), starts Friday for the Dodgers in his third MLB appearance of the season.

For the Cardinals, right-hander Sonny Gray (6-1, 3.65) will take the hill. Gray has a 1.42 ERA in his last three starts after a rough outing in Philadelphia. Gray has been strong at home as a Cardinal, with a 3.23 ERA this season at Busch after putting up a sub-3 ERA last year at home.

Gray will need to turn the tide of recent rotation struggles. Since May 25, Cardinals starters rank 28th in baseball with a 6.11 ERA.

The Cardinals are 34-28, second in the National League Central and five games behind the Cubs. St. Louis split a doubleheader with Kansas City on Thursday to drop that series.

St. Louis is 20-14 vs. teams that are above .500, second in the NL to only the Mets.

The Dodgers are 38-25, first in the National League West. They rallied Thursday for a win over the Mets and a split of a four-game set at Dodger Stadium.

St. Louis lost both series last season vs. LA, going 2-5 against LA.

Game also airs on KMOV (Channel 4)

Friday's game, in addition to the usual airing on FanDuel ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest, also is simulcast on local broadcast television on KMOV (Chanel 4) and Matrix Midwest (Channel 32). throughout the Cardinals footprint in six nearby states will also carry the game.

It's one of several games this season are set for local broadcast TV on KMOV and/or Matrix.

How to watch Cardinals vs. Dodgers

When: 7:15 p.m. Friday

Where: Busch Stadium in St. Louis

TV/radio: FanDuel ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Network Midwest (), KMOV (Channel 4), Matrix Midwest (Channel 32) as well as ; KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the as well as .

Your options to watch: Input your ZIP code and see your choices for watching Cardinals games.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Lars Nootbaar, LF

2. Masyn Winn, SS

3. Brendan Donovan, 2B

4. Willson Contreras, 1B

5. Iván Herrera, DH

6. Nolan Arenado, 3B

7. Ryan Vilade, RF

8. Pedro Pagés, C

9. Victor Scott II, CF

P: Sonny Gray, RHP

DODGERS

1. Shohei Ohtani, DH

2. Mookie Betts, SS

3. Freddie Freeman, 1B

4. Teoscar Hernández, RF

5. Max Muncy, 3B

6. Andy Pages, CF

7. Michael Conforto, LF

8. Tommy Edman, 2B

9. Dalton Rushing, C

P: Justin Wrobleski, LHP

Injury report

Jordan Walker, OF (left wrist inflammation): Walker received an anti-inflammatory injection in his left wrist on Wednesday in hopes of speeding up his progression. He felt pain in his left wrist during a late May homestand and had the level of that pain go “in and out� when the club traveled to Baltimore, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. Walker attempted to take on-field batting practice May 30 before the Cardinals’ opened a three-game series vs. the Rangers but “didn’t feel good" after taking a couple of swings, Marmol added. The Cardinals placed Walker on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 29. Marmol believes Walker’s stay won’t be longer than the 10 days and may not require a rehab assignment. Updated June 5

Zach Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain): Lefty returned to Jupiter, Florida, and a resumption of his throwing program after going through a battery of exams and evaluations in St. Louis over the past week. He did not receive any additional treatments, which was a good result as they set up a plan for him to recover from a setback. Updated May 26