Dodgers vs. Cubs Sunday Night Baseball Preview and Free Pick (Archive)
The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally starting to come around and are now 18-7 on the season. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs are currently in a minor rebuild and are 9-17 on the season.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs
Sunday, May 8, 2022 – 07:08 PM EDT at Wrigley Field
The Cubs
Looking at the roster for the Cubs, you would’ve imagined they’d be better than 9-17 on the year. But the offense has gone silent since a booming first couple of weeks to start the season.
Marcus Stroman will take the hill for the Cubs. He’s got a 1-3 record with an ERA of 5.13. His xFIP is at 4.24 but he’s only striking out 20.4% of batters. The right-hander still limits walks to 6.5% but is getting only 45.6% of ground balls. Stroman is usually earning more ground balls than that but instead has allowed over 24% of line drives.
He’s faced 59 lefties and has given up a .200 ISO. To righties, he’s allowed a .244 ISO in 49 plate appearances.
The Dodgers
There have been rumors about balls being juiced on nationally televised games. So those power numbers come into play. The Dodgers have a .185 ISO against righties with the projected lineup and a .329 wOBA.
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On the other hand, Walker Buehler will get the call for the Dodgers. The right-hander has been very good with a 2.12 ERA. Analytically, he hasn’t been nearly as spotless but has a 4.45 xFIP with 21.5% of strikeouts and 5.8% of walks.
The Cubs lineup, however, has an ISO of .113 with a wOBA of .297 against righties this season. Only Seiya Suzuki and Patrick Wisdom have high ISO power numbers against righties and the entire lineup is striking out nearly 26% of the time. The Cubs are also hitting 47.6% ground balls and hitting under 21% of line drives.
Prediction
The Cubs’ offense has been bad against righties. The lineup strikes out way too much and continues to hit plenty of ground balls that usually could turn into double plays.
I’m not banking on the Cubs to score runs against Buehler but I do think the Dodgers can earn some runs in this matchup against Stroman and the Cubs.
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, and Austin Barnes are hitting for heavy power against righties this season. The lineup is also getting 10.4% of walks and is one of the more consistent lineups in baseball.
Let’s take the Dodgers Over 1.5 runs in the first five innings on the team total. Los Angeles can absolutely score two runs in five innings against Stroman. It takes one walk and one mistake. And Stroman has a track record of mistakes this season. Don't forget to place your wagers at a top-rated sportsbook.
MLB Pick: Dodgers Over 1.5 First Five Team Total (-145) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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