Cubs vs. Dodgers Pick
Can the Chicago Cubs solve the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS and advance to the World Series for a second straight year? Game one is Saturday night at 8:08PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Dodgers are a -190 favorite to win the NLCS. The Cubs are a +155 underdog to win the series. Game one odds have yet to be released.
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Chicago advanced to the World Series by defeating the Nationals in five games in the NLDS, winning Game 5 by a count of 9-8. Los Angeles won its series over Arizona in a three-game sweep. The Dodgers lead the series by a count of 4-2 and the total has gone under five times.
Pitching Game 1 for the Cubs will be either Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15 ERA) or John Lackey (12-12, 4.59). The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31). Also in the Chicago rotation are Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33), Jake Arrieta (14-10, 3.53) and Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03). Los Angeles’ rotation also includes Rich Hill (12-8, 3.32), Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86) and possibly Kenta Maeda (13-6, 4.22).
The Cubs ralled from a 4-1 deficit to win Game 5 versus the Nationals. scoring four runs in the fifth off Max Scherzer. Jon Jay was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Willson Contreras went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs. Addison Russell was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run and four RBIs. Brian Duensing picked up the win in relief, while Wade Davis threw a season-high 44 pitches and 2 1/3 innings to earn the save.
Los Angeles won Game 3 at Arizona by a count of 3-1 as Justin Turner went 2-for-5, while Cody Bellinger was 2-for-4 with a home run plus a walk and two RBIs. Darvish gave up one earned run and struck out seven over five innings to get the win. Kenley Jansen recorded the save.
Jay was 3-for-11 in the NLDS with two doubles and two runs. Russell was 4-for-18 with two doubles and four RBIs. Contreras and Anthony Rizzo both contributed a home run. For the Dodgers, Austin Barnes was 4-for-8 with a double and a home run versus Arizona. Turner was 6-for-13 with a home run and five RBIs. Yasiel Puig finished 5-for-11 with a double, a triple and four RBIs.
Los Angeles might have posted the best record in baseball this season with a 103-win regular season, but the Cubs have a proven postseason track record after last year’s ending of the historic World Series title drought. While the Chicago rotation is a bit uncertain for Game 1, the rest stacks up nicely in games that Kershaw does not pitch. And Kershaw has had his own postseason issues. While the Cubs are a fairly big underdog, we love their chances to split the games in Los Angeles and then take control of the series when it comes to Wrigley Field.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CHICAGO CUBS +155