The Dodgers took the first three games in St. Louis before falling Sunday, 5-0, giving the Cardinals the crucial head-to-head tiebreaker (Cardinals won the season series 4-3). They sit just a half-game behind the Rockies for the National League West title with 13 games to play and the final three game series tonight.

Superstition won out on Sunday, and it is ever-plentiful among baseball fans. The Dodgers pounded the Cardinals for 29 runs in the first three games of the series, including 17 in Yasiel Puig’s three-homer game on Saturday.

They were promptly shutout with just four hits in the final game of the series, giving the Cardinals the edge for the season and tiebreaker if both of these teams finish with identical records at season’s end.

Which brings us to the final tour of the NL West in 2018. Los Angeles has the next two series at home against the best in the division (Colorado) and the worst (San Diego), before heading to Arizona and then up to the Bay Area.

The winner of this Rockies/Dodgers series will have sole possession of first, and if it’s the Dodgers, a chance to create some space with Padres coming to town next.

Hyun-Jin Ryu takes on Jon Gray at 7:00. Listen live to every inning on your hometown station, KHTS FM 98.1.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK PUIG: Yasiel Puig earned the National League Player of the Week honors for the first time since May 2014, incidentally his best week in a long time.

KHTS Sports is your source for the 2017 Santa Clarita high school football season and your daily Dodgers update. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter and Instagram.