Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Chicago Cubs (38-29) may not be in first place in their own division, but they have been a recent nemesis of the Los Angeles Dodgers (45-23). The Dodgers have lost six of the past nine meetings with the Cubs, and they will host them in the series opener of a four-game set starting on Thursday as consensus -190 home favorites (bet $190 to win $100) on the MLB odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Los Angeles enters this series on a two-game losing streak, something that has happened only one other time since dropping two straight to Chicago on April 23 and 24. The Dodgers lost on the road to the San Francisco Giants last week, but they have not fallen to the same opponent twice in a row at home since the Milwaukee Brewers beat them on April 12 and 13.
Cubs at Dodgers | OddsShark Matchup Report
That said, Los Angeles starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw will be looking to rebound from his first loss in 22 starts going back to last July 21, with the team going 17-0 prior in his previous 17 starts.
Kershaw (5-1, 3.00 ERA) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings of a 2-1 road loss to the Giants on Friday, walking one and striking out four. His counterpart, Jon Lester (5-4, 3.56 ERA) of the Cubs, has won his last two starts following a personal three-game losing streak, so they may hold some value for baseball bettors in this spot.
However, Lester’s road and night splits suggest the opposite to be true. He is just 2-2 with a 4.97 ERA in five starts away from home and 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA in six under the lights, so Chicago may be hard-pressed to earn a victory as a road underdog here.
The Dodgers have an edge as well with former Cubs pitcher Rich Hill (3-1, 2.40 ERA), Walker Buehler (7-1, 3.35 ERA) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.36 ERA) slated to go in the next three games between Friday and Sunday. The OVER is 5-1 in the past six meetings though, according to the OddsShark MLB Database, so look for some high-scoring games here.
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