Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs NLCS Game 1 Preview
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
When: Saturday, October 15, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Dodgers (TBA) vs. Chicago Cubs (TBA) – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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Betting on the Los Angeles Dodgers (TBA)
Vin Scully isn’t calling Dodger games anymore but he can still see them play this year thanks to LA’s 4-3 win against Washington Thursday that booked the team a spot in the NLCS.
The Dodgers have yet to announce the starter as of this writing but the likely choice would be Kenta Maeda, the only player on the rotation who’ll have a full five-day rest when the series kicks off at Wrigley Field this Saturday.
Maeda had a rough day at the office in his first start this postseason, as he was charged with four earned runs on five hits in just three innings of an 8-3 loss to Washington in Game 3 of the NLDS. In case Maeda goes short or if he struggles again, the Dodgers will turn to their dependable bullpen that ranked first in ERA back in the regular season with a 3.35 ERA.
The Dodgers’ offense, meanwhile, is looking for production from the likes of Justin Turner and Joc Pederson, two of the team’s hottest hitters this postseason. Turner is 6-for-15 with a triple and homer in the past five games. Pederson, on the other hand, is 5-for-15 with a home run and a double during the same span.
The Dodgers are 6-1 in Maeda’s last seven starts overall.
Betting on the Chicago Cubs (TBA)
Who’s afraid of a damn goat curse? Not this year’s Cubs team for sure, as the team managed to overcome the seemingly unbeatable-in-even-years Giants in the NLDS to gain a place in the next round of the postseason.
Chicago opens up the NLCS at home with Jon Lester working the mound. Lester was terrific in Game 1 of the Giants series, holding scoreless in eight innings and allowing just five hits to go with five strikeouts. Lester has been superb this season, especially when pitching at Wrigley Field, where he went 10-2 with a floor-scraping 1.74 ERA in 15 starts. Moreover, Lester has limited the Dodgers’ active roster to only .174 batting average (20-for-115) in his career.
Lester will be backed by the Cubs’ offense that has supplied him 5.37 runs per nine innings pitched thus far this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Chicago wins, 4-2.
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