The Chicago Cubs will host the National League West defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend in a three-game series. The Cubs just finished a sweep of the Colorado Rockies in their Home opener series. The Los Angeles Dodgers just swept the division rival San Fransico Giants in a three-game series after taking three of four from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers look like a powerhouse again this year. This will be another good test for the Cubs who lost the season-opening series against the Texas Rangers.
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Game One: Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 12.27 ERA) vs Bobby Miller (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Start time: 2:20 PM
The Dodgers lineup has five hitters who’ve faced Kendricks in the past all of which have an average of over three hundred against the Cubs right-hander. Freddie Freeman has the most at-bats against the veteran going 5-13 with one home run and four RBIs in his career, hitting .385 against him. Mookie Betts .333, Max Muncy one home run, one RBI, and a .375 average. Christ Taylor and Gavin Lux hit .375 & .667 against Hendricks in their careers as well. So after a rough start for Kendricks, it doesn’t look to get any easier when facing this Dodgers lineup. On the flipside, the Cubs have never seen the young RHP Bobby Miller who only gave up to hits while striking out 11 Cardinals to open his season. It will be a tough test for the Cubs bats, but hopefully, they can carry over some momentum picked up in the Rockies series.
Game Two: Jordan Wicks (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs Yoshinobu Yamamoto (0-1, 7.50 ERA)
Start time: 4:05 PM
This game should be interesting. Will Yamamoto finally come out and pitch like the pitcher the Dodgers were hoping for when they gave him his big offseason contract coming over from Japan or will he continue to struggle against this Cubs lineup? Will Jordan Wicks be able to lower his 2.00 WHIP from his first start and perhaps make it past four innings if works this outing? This will be another big test for the young left-hander as he looks to rebound from his last outing against the Rangers where he gave up five hits, three walks, and stuck out six. I will be interested to see how Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki look to provide insight to teammates from their time in Japan with Yamamoto. This game will be interesting all around and meaningful for both pitchers to see if they can get their seasons on track.
Game Three: Shota Imanaga (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Gavin Stone (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Start Time: 2:20 PM
Well, unlike Yamamoto, Shota came out in the home series opener against the Rockies and was lights out as good as advertised and perhaps better than some expected. Granted he faced the Rockies lineup, not the Texas Rangers as Wicks had, but still six innings of two-hit baseball sticking out nine while walking none was an impressive start for the Cubs rookie left-hander. Gavin Stone on the other hand pitched 5 innings giving up seven hits, one walk, and striking out six to open his season. Stone will face a Cube team looking to finish the series strong with a win.
Wrap up:
This season will be a fun one to watch as this Dodger club is deep their lineup is tough from top to bottom and will provide a test for the pitching similar to or better than the one they faced against the Rangers. I think the game first game of the series will be the toughest, due to the way Hendricks has pitched so far this year and the bats of the Dodgers being able to take advantage of his arsenal that lacks any serious velocity, yes he can have plenty to keep them off balance with, but this team will pick its spot against him and make him pay. Overall I think watching Shota pitch to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman will be fun to watch. I am also looking forward to watching Yamamoto batter against Seiya Suzuki. My prediction:
Game One Dodgers win 8-3
Game Two Cubs win 6-5
Game Three Cubs win 3-2
Cubs win the series at home 2-1 at Wrigley Field in some cooler temps.
