Cubs Can Start Year Strong Against Dodgers

Dodgers vs. Cubs, 6:10 AM ET (Tuesday Morning)

We are almost at that point in the season where we have baseball back every day. We haven't quite reached it yet, and Spring Training is going on for most teams. However, as Major League Baseball looks to expand their market, they are going to Japan. They did that last year as well and are doing it once again with the Tokyo Series. For the second year in a row, the Dodgers are playing in it, but this time they take on the Cubs. How should we bet this start-of-the-season matchup.

If you read my article from last season on the Tokyo series, you may recall we faded the Dodgers and got a nice plus money win to kick off our baseball season. It was a fun way to start the season and a good sign of things to come as we had another really strong MLB season for the Outkick Bets fans. The Dodgers are expected to be the best team in baseball once again. Last year they ended up winning the World Series. This offseason brought in even more joy for the team that continues to refill even the richest of rosters. What did they add? Well, this year Shohei Ohtani is back in the rotation. Blake Snell is on the team, and they added Roki Sasaki, one of the biggest arms that was available this offseason. They didn't really do much in terms of offense, but they should be fine anyway with the bats in their lineup. Today they have Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the hill. He was a big acquisition for them last offseason, and he pitched pretty well, going 7-2 in 18 starts with a 3.00 ERA. His first start, the one that we faded, saw him last just one inning and allow five earned runs. That was in Japan as well. He has faced the Cubs twice before and went five innings allowing just three hits and no earned runs in the first games and went four innings allowing just one unearned run on three its in the second game. 

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a bullpen session under the watchful eye of manager Dave Roberts (far L) during spring training in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by Kyodo News/Sipa USA)

The Cubs are not expected to be a great team, but they do have some good odds to win the NL Central division this season. I've been very open about this in the past - I am a Cubs fan, but I'm not a content one. I don't think they've done enough to really justify them being the favorites in the division. The team has been very average and seemingly afraid to make big moves. Sure, they are associated with bigger names, but that doesn't tend to result in success. They didn't do much to their rotation to improve it, and their only real addition to the lineup was Kyle Tucker. He is a good hitter, and might be an upgrade over Cody Bellinger, but does that improve the team that much? Time will tell. Matt Shaw, their third baseman, is one of the better rookie candidates this season, so perhaps he makes an impact. But, if the Cubs are going to be successful, they will need another year like last year out of Shota Imanaga. He was phenomenal for the Cubs last season, going 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA. There was a stretch to start the season where he allowed two or fewer earned runs in 12 of 13 games. One of those was against the Dodgers where he allowed just two hits over four scoreless innings. His other start against the Dodgers was a seven-inning game where he allowed three solo homers. 

The Dodgers have a really good chance at winning virtually any game. I think they probably will win this one as well, but I do think Imanaga can keep this one close and that he at least gives the Cubs a chance to pull out a win. I wouldn't be surprised if this game was a low scoring one, or one where the ball is flying out of the yard. I'm going to take the Cubs first five moneyline at +124. If they are going to have a chance it comes down to Imanaga who has shown that he is successful already against the Dodgers. I also think Shohei Ohtani gets at least two bases at -120. 

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