Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs – MLB Preview
The Chicago Cubs meet one of the hottest teams in baseball when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8 PM ET in the first game in a three-game series.
After getting three wins on a five-game road trip, the Chicago Cubs (21-24, 11-10 home) return home to try and extend a three-game winning streak on home field. They could get their longest home winning streak of the season with a win tonight.
The Cubs trail both St. Louis and Cincinnati by five games in the race for top spot in the NL Central. They have been playing well of late going 6-2 in their last eight.
The Los Angeles Dodgers (25-19, 10-11 away) have put their slow start to the season behind them and have been playing some pretty solid baseball since the beginning of the month. They are now 16-5 in May which has bumped their record to 25-19 and moved them up to second in the NL West. They trail the Padres by just one game.
The Dodgers are riding a six-game road winning streak in to tonight’s game. If they are able to extend it by one more game, they would have their longest road winning streak since 2004.
One of the players who has stepped up his game after a slow start takes the mound tonight for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 3.23 ERA) has a 0.81 ERA in three starts since a disastrous outing on May 4 where he gave up 7 runs in 1 1/3 innings. The left-hander has never started against the Cubs.
Ryan Dempster (2-4, 3.73 ERA) gets the call for the Cubs. The right-hander has struggled a bit lately going 0-4 in his last five starts with a 4.63 ERA. Dempster always loves to play LA as he has six straight wins against them and is 6-2 in his career with a 2.25 ERA.
