In one of the premier weekend series, the first place Cubs will travel to southern California to take on the first place Dodgers with both offenses rolling. On Saturday, each team will look to position itself for a series win by taking the middle game of a three game set.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Dodgers have won three straight and 10 of 16 after taking the game against San Francisco on Tuesday night and extending their division lead to two games.
Despite an ever-growing list of starters on the disabled list, the team continues to perform. It’s been something that’s brought this team together rather than something to tear them apart.
Of course, even with the Dodgers playing well, the Cubs are better. They’re 18-4 in their last 22 games and while they’re on the road, they’re still nine games over-.500 away from Wrigley Field.
Nevertheless, be weary of getting too gung ho about the Cubs. The Dodgers are 39-24 at home and the Cubs, for all of their winning, are just barely in the black when it comes to total moneyline due to insane expectations and exaggerated odds, even on the road.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
As the rotation turns in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have added Scott Kazmir and Brett Anderson to the list of starters on the disabled list.
With both of them gone, the rotation is a major question mark. It’s too short of a turnaround for Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling or Rich Hill to start, leaving Bud Norris or Julio Urias as possibilities.
Norris probably gets the nod on Friday, giving the young southpaw the start on Saturday.
Of those still healthy, Urias probably has the best stuff of the bunch, but the youngster is a bit of a question mark. Like any youngster, he’s unpredictable and command can be an issue, but his last two starts have been very good: a six inning scoreless outing against Cincinnati and a five inning outing with just one earned run against Philadelphia with a scoreless relief appearance in between.
While figuring out who will take the mound for Los Angeles is an issue and the options are flawed, the Cubs have already announced that it’ll be Jason Hammel on the mound on Saturday.
The 33-year old veteran right-hander is a strong mid-rotation arm filling the fifth spot in Chicago.
He’s reliable and, up until his last outing, he had been on a roll. Before giving up 10 runs—six of them earned—in just three and a third innings on Sunday at Coors Field, Hammel had three straight outings of at least six innings and no runs. Going back further, he had a seven start stretch where he pitched to a 1.26 ERA in 43 innings of work.
Honestly, the real Hammel is probably somewhere between those two extremes. On the year, he’s 13-6 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.126 WHIP. His win-loss record shows he gives his team a chance to win.
Look for Hammel to do just that on Saturday. He won’t be at Coors Field and should have a much better time against the Dodgers than he did when his breaking ball didn’t break in the thin air. Of course, his last blow up start came on July 1 against a poor hitting Mets team in New York.
It’s reasonable to expect a good outing from Hammel given his overall numbers, but when he doesn’t have it, he can be bad.
LIVE BETTING
The Dodgers’ offense is rolling of late. As of Tuesday, Los Angeles had tallied 112 runs in the month of August, tying the team with the Cubs for the fifth most in all of baseball in that time.
Making things better for L.A., however, is the fact they’ve played one less game than the Cubbies.
Los Angele’s offense has really taken off as the team’s come together to support the injury plagued rotation. Plus, with the Yasiel Puig drama hidden in Triple-A, the team’s been all about production.
After his power looked to have disappeared, Adrian Gonzalez is only a blisteringly hot pace. He had a three home run and eight RBI day on Monday and followed that with two more hits and three more RBIs on Tuesday, giving him a 16-game hitting streak, with half of them being multi-hit games.
While one hot bopper is nice, several is even better. Shortstop Corey Seager continues to roll with a .923 OPS and 22 bombs while Justin Turner has joined him in the 20-home run club with 23. Catcher Yasmani Grandal has also eclipsed 20 with 21 bombs.
After hitting .212 in the first half, the young catcher has a .959 second half OPS and a 1.021 OPS since August. He’s also a better home hitter with a .985 OPS compared to a .660 road OPS.
So, the Dodgers’ offense is rolling and that’s bad news for Hammel, but the team’s without a clear starting pitcher and has to contend with an offense that’s equally strong right now.
Chicago’s lineup is deep and with Willson Contreras seeing more and more time behind the plate and Jason Heyward looking better at the plate since a few days off, the lone weak spots are going away. Heyward and catcher Miguel Montero are the only players on the team with an OPS+ under 101.
QUICK PICK
This could be a close game so don’t be afraid to jump on either side of the odds if those odds get too long. All things even, look to back the Cubs on the road. Hammel, even after his recent blow up, is a more certain thing than Urias, Norris or whoever the Dodgers send to the hill. While Hammel does have a bad outing from time-to-time, those bad outings don’t tend to come back-to-back.
Outside of the starters, however, this matchup is balanced. These two teams are both hitting well this month and both bullpens are strong though the Dodgers may have the better depth there with the Cubs dealing with injuries.
Once the starters are set and if the Dodgers have a surprise starter with nice stats, don’t be afraid to fade the Cubs, but for now, take Chicago on the road to scratch across another victory.
MLB Odds: Cubs 6, Dodgers 5
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Saturday, August 27, 2016, at 4:05 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The game will be televised live on FS1 and WGN.
