Here we go with a classic baseball battle, stretching their muscles this time at the Dodger Stadium, the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Right off the bat, no pun intended, Dodgers always have their charm at home, with their adoring crowd and familiar turf which has a slight lean towards batters. Cubs might've brought their A-game, but in the heart of LA, it's Dodgers territory.
Cubs' starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks leaves a lot to be desired this season, with a staggering ERA of 6.86 and WHIP of 1.57. On the other side of the diamond, Dodgers' Walker Buehler, although not performing spectacularly either, has done slightly better with a 5.48 ERA and WHIP of 1.65 this season. This is where experience and sweat will meet muscle and talent.
For the Cubbies, both Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong stood out with similar average and homers, though Dansby Swanson deserves a shout out with his stupendous base-swiping ability. Meanwhile, for the Dodgers, you can't ignore the one-two punch combo of Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. Though both teams have their hitters and runners, Dodgers players have been showing more consistency while at bat.
Interesting to note that the last couple of times these teams went head to head, Cubs took the majority of the wins. But, that's history, and today is a new day. Putting the past aside, as for recent performances, the Dodgers have shown commendable results compared to the alternating victories and defeats of Cubs.
The games cannot be solely decided upon their previous season records, but still, size does matter. The win-loss count stands in favor of the Dodgers at 86-57, leaving Cubs a little behind at 73-70.
So, harmless prediction or insightful foresight, we go with this:
Albert’s Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers by 2