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The Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Check out our MLB odds series for our Cubs Dodgers prediction and pick.
Marcus Stroman makes the start for the Cubs, while Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for the Dodgers.
Marcus Stroman is making his first start since June 3, when he got hurt and the Cardinals bombed him for nine runs in four innings. Stroman posted a 6.98 ERA in April and then had a spectacular month of May, throwing down a 1.50 ERA. Then came the nightmare on June 3. Five weeks later, Stroman will go back to the bump and see if he can start fresh for the Cubs.
Clayton Kershaw still has “it.” He still knows how to get outs. Age has forced him to adjust, but he's a brilliant adjustment maker. Kershaw won't blow away hitters, but his location and change of speeds are still first-rate, and they enable him to get hitters off balance. He still gets late movement and bite on his slider, which gets hitters to chase pitches out of the strike zone. Kershaw has made 10 starts in an injury-interrupted season. He didn't pitch for a month after a May 7 start when he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He returned on June 11 against the Giants. Of his 10 starts in 2022, Kershaw has given up more than two runs in only two of them. His two bad starts — 10 runs allowed in nine innings pitched — represent a majority of his runs allowed for the whole year (16). Otherwise, he has been terrific. He is coming off a July 3 start in which he dominated the Padres in seven scoreless innings.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Cubs-Dodgers MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Cubs-Dodgers Odds
Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (+104)
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (-125)
Over: 7.5 (-120)
Under: 7.5 (-102)
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Why The Cubs Could Cover the Spread
The Cubs covered the spread on Friday, getting good starting pitching and building a lead before losing by one run. they still covered on the run line. Chicago's starting pitching has been excellent this past week. The Cubs outpitched the Brewers in Milwaukee and won that three-game series. Chicago has lost each of the first two games against the Dodgers, but the starting pitching has been solid. If you had the Cubs plus 2.5 runs on Thursday, that would have covered the spread as well. The Cubs aren't winning, but they are keeping games close because they're not allowing the Dodgers to score more than five runs. There's plenty of reason to think that trend can continue on Saturday night.
Why The Dodgers Could Cover the Spread
Clayton Kershaw is in rhythm. If he can dominate the Padres as he did on Sunday, he can certainly dominate the Cubs. Even if he doesn't dominate, however, Kershaw is still very likely to hold the Cubs to no more than two or three runs in six or seven innings of work. If the Dodger bats — which haven't been red-hot this past week, even though L.A. has won five straight games — can get going, they should be able to cover the spread regardless. This team is due for a breakout game with eight or more runs scored.
Final Cubs-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
The Dodgers have won five in a row. They're at home. Kershaw is pitching well. This really isn't that complicated.
Final Cubs-Dodgers Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5
