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Free MLB Pick: Dodgers vs. Cubs Betting Lines & Preview

Los Angeles vs Chicago Pick

MLB Baseball betting action sees the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the Chicago Cubs Monday June 22nd at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. Cappers Picks provides free MLB Baseball handicapping tips all season long.

MLB Predictions

Los Angeles vs. Chicago Cubs
Date/Time: Monday, June 22 2015, 8:05 pm EST
Venue: Wrigley Field, Chicago IL
Los Angeles -190, Chicago +165
Over/Under: None
Pitching Match-up: Clayton Kershaw (5-4, 3.29 ERA) vs. Tsuyoshi Wada (1-1, 3.68 ERA)
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There’s an intriguing match-up happening on the shores of Lake Michigan on Monday night, featuring two of the National League’s eyebrow-raising contenders.

With the Dodgers (39-31), it’s the bloated payroll of superstars that are already there. The home team Cubs (37-30) are an assortment of young stud prospects looking to make their mark.

Chicago is coming off a pair of wins against the Minnesota Twins, where the Cubbies out-scored them 12-1. The great equalizer, though, should be who is on the mound for the visitors.

Clayton Kershaw is plainly one of, if not the best pitchers in the majors over the past few seasons. The fact that a current win/loss record of a single game over .500 and an ERA slightly over three is unsightly for him speaks to his dominance.

Kershaw’s WHIP is still just a miniscule 1.05, which shows that he really has been as strong as ever so far this season. The southpaw Texan joins with fellow starter Zack Greinke to give the Dodgers the best starting pitching duo in the majors.

It will be tough for the Cubbies to score runs on Monday night. Yet Chicago is better equipped than most ballclubs to do it, even against the perennial Cy Young candidate Kershaw.

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The Cubs have scored the most runs in the NL Central division, with 284. Blossoming slugger Anthony Rizzo leads the way with a .309 average, 15 HRs and 43 RBI, along with an OPS of 1.010. Those numbers are, in a word, awesome.

Other young call-ups like 3B Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber have also been raking, as has Cuban Jorge Soler, though he’s currently on the DL. The Cubs brain trust is developing a lineup that becomes scarier by the day.

The pitching duties for the home side will be left to Japanese import Wada, who’s posted good numbers this year though he has only thrown 29 innings to date. Ace hurler Jon Lester hasn’t been as good as advertised so far, so someone in Chicago’s rotation must step up to fill the void.

As teams like the Toronto Blue Jays show, you can score all the runs in the world, but if you can’t pitch at least halfway respectably, you will not contend. Chicago would be wise to heed that maxim as it heads into the second half of the season.

Apart from Kershaw, the Dodgers don’t get the biggest payroll in the entire league without having some potent bats of their own (Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig and Howie Kendrick immediately come to mind).

It should be a great match-up between L.A., who leads the NL West and the Cubs, in a dogfight in the hotly-contested Central division.

While Chicago’s offense can hang a crooked number on any pitcher in any game, Clayton Kershaw’s record is too sterling to overlook.

4* Free MLB Pick: Los Angeles 5, Chicago 3

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!