The team of destiny’s next competition is a Dodgers team that won four of seven against Chicago in the regular season. Can they be that lucky again? Maybe, but it doesn’t look good for Game 1 as the Cubs earned themselves a bit more rest and a chance to lineup their staff perfectly.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cubs stumbled a bit in their NLDS matchup with the Giants. They handled business at home, but struggled in San Francisco—though they did beat a struggling bullpen in the ninth of Game 4 to win the series.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, went five to beat the Nationals, winning two of those games on the road.
The Cubs have an even bigger home field advantage at home than Washington, though, winning over seventy percent of their home contests.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
The Cubs enter this game with the clear advantage on the mound. They’ve got a well-rested Jon Lester to start Game 1 while the Dodgers were forced to burn Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill in a come from behind series win over the Nationals ending on Thursday. Kershaw actually threw in Game 4 and Game 5.
With both starting earlier this week, the Dodgers now have to choose from the team’s other starters, including going with Kenta Maeda in Game 1.
Should Maeda get the start, you have a reliable arm, but not an ace to counter Lester. The 28-year old right-hander had a good year with a 16-11 record, 3.48 ERA and 1.139 WHIP, but he doesn’t provide length and is coming off a rather disappointing start in the NLDS; a start that he lost.
Against the Nationals his last time out, he lasted just three innings, allowing four runs on five hits and a pair of walks before Dave Roberts was forced to go to his bullpen.
Maeda will need to pitch better against a Cubs team that’s been better at the plate this year than the Nationals.
One thing that may benefit Maeda is the fact that Chicago didn’t get a chance to face him this year, though that was true of the Nationals, too. On the bad side, his short stint against Washington was his second straight bad start. He ended the regular season pitching just 2.2 innings and allowing five runs and nine hits against a Giants team the Cubs handled in four games.
Speaking of the Cubs, there’s no better way to line up the staff than the way they did in the NLDS and they get to do that against here in the Championship series.
Lester has proven to be worth every penny he was paid this year. The veteran southpaw was 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA and 1.016 WHIP in the regular season. His number were even better—albeit in a small sample size—against the Dodgers. He tossed 15 innings in two starts, allowing one combined run and seven combined hits while striking out 16.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Dodgers are a very left-handed heavy lineup and have been the worst team in baseball against southpaws throughout the season.
On a more personal note, Lester came out in this postseason very strong, bouncing back from a rough end to the regular season. In his Game 1 start against the Giants, he tossed eight scoreless innings, walking nobody and allowing only five hits before turning the ball over the Aroldis Chapman in the ninth and collecting the victory.
LIVE BETTING
Chicago last played on Tuesday, beating the Giants in Game 4. With the Dodgers taking five games to top Washington, they played on Thursday so the Cubs, while getting a chance to line up their pitching staff, also run the risk of coming out rusty.
That may have been an issue for this team’s offense in the NLDS. Aside from some strong hitting performances by its pitchers, the Cubs offense was very slow to come around. Chicago showed some signs of life at the plate late in Game 3 and then came from down three runs—scoring four in the ninth—to win in Game 4. Could that be a sign of things to come?
Chicago certainly has the offensive ability to keep the good times rolling. Javier Baez had a very good series in the NLDS while Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are MVP quality players.
The depth for this Cubs’ team is staggering, even compared to a deep Dodgers’ team.
Speaking of the Dodgers, they’re depth is questioned when it comes to right-handed bats. We’ll see the right-handed heavily lineup, but guys like Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez will play regardless, but Yasiel Puig should be in the outfield against the lefty.
QUICK PICK
The Cubs have a well-rested ace getting the start; one that throws from the left-side against a team that’s shown they cannot hit lefties with any kind of consistency over a lengthy 162-game campaign.
Chicago adds to that with an offense that started to break out in the end against San Francisco and an offense.
Sure, Lester has issues throwing to first, but we’ve yet to see a team fully exploit that and the Dodgers don’t have the team speed to be that team. Sure, the Cubs did manage to lose a game to the Giants and were down late in Game 4. Still, this is the best team in baseball. They’ve got the better offense, better starting pitching and a strong enough bullpen to compete.
The Dodgers did have the best bullpen in baseball based on ERA, but Kenley Jansen was beat in the series. He also ended up throwing a ton of pitches in Game 5. That could come back to bite Los Angeles. Aroldis Chapman was hit, too, but he bounced back to get the save that closed the door for San Francisco. He’s also had more rest.
Overall, don’t look for many runs from the Dodgers who will have their hands full in a poor platoon matchup with Lester. Lester could also go deep before turning the ball over to Chapman as he did in the NLDS. On the other side, look for Roberts to give Maeda a short leash, but even a couple early runs for the Cubbies will be too much for Los Angeles to overcome against the nation’s best team at home.
MLB Odds: Cubs 5, Dodgers 2
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will take place Saturday, October 15, 2016, at 8:08 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The contest will be televised nationally on FS1.
