The Cubs (73-70) just completed a 2-4 homestand that put them almost completely out of the playoff race with less than 20 games to go in the season. Chicago’s offense managed 17 runs in the six games, 12 of which were in a single contest Wednesday. The road gets even tougher with a trip to Dodger Stadium for three games starting Monday night.
The Dodgers (86-57) are well on their way to another National League West division championship and are neck-and-neck with Philadelphia for the best record in the NL and a first-round bye. They have the third-highest team OPS (.767) and their lineup is still topped by the three-headed monster of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman.
Ohtani is predictably the big story, as he approaches an unprecedented 50 home run/50 stolen base season. The towering Dodgers DH needs four dingers and four swipes to hit the mark, so it is a possibility this series. I’m sure the Cubs would like to avoid any more in-game celebrations if possible after last year’s Ronald Acuña Jr. 70th stolen base hullabaloo.
LA has a top-10 pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.83 but they’ve had a lot of issues with injuries to the rotation as all four of their top starters have missed time with injury. Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler missed over half the season and major offseason addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to return against the Cubs after missing over two months.
Chicago took two of three from Los Angeles at Wrigley Field this April but victories can be harder to come by at Chavez Ravine. The Cubs don’t have much to play for right now with the playoffs basically out of reach, so maybe they can win a couple and mess up the Dodgers’ chances for the best overall record.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, September 9 at 9:10pm CT on Marquee.
- Tuesday, September 10 at 9:10pm CT on TBS and Marquee.
- Wednesday, September 11 at 9:10pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 9/9 | Kyle Hendricks | 34 | R | 6.60 | 3-11 | 5.22 | 2.24 |
| Walker Buehler | 30 | R | 5.67 | 1-4 | 5.98 | 2.25 | |
| 9/10 | Shōta Imanaga | 31 | L | 2.99 | 12-3 | 3.66 | 6.20 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 26 | R | 2.92 | 6-2 | 2.69 | 4.94 | |
| 9/11 | Jordan Wicks | 25 | L | 4.03 | 2-3 | 3.23 | 2.57 |
| Bobby Miller | 25 | R | 7.79 | 2-4 | 6.81 | 1.92 |
What to Watch For
- Ian Happ was the only hitter doing much of anything against the Yankees, reaching base four times.
- Imanaga can’t do any better than his last start when he pitched the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter.
- Chicago was 8-1 on their last road trip, but all those games were against losing teams.
The post Chicago Cubs @ Los Angeles Dodgers – Series Preview (September 9-11): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4 appeared first on Cubs Insider.