Thursday, March 16, 2017

Camelback Ranch

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Probable Pitchers: John Lackey vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu

The Chicago Cubs visit Camelback Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2017 to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are John Lackey for the Cubs and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the Dodgers.

The opening line for this matchup has Chicago at +100 and Los Angeles at -120. The Cubs had a 75-79-8 over/under record and a 87-75-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 54% of the time. The Dodgers were 81-81-0 against the run line and had a 69-83-10 over/under record. They covered the spread 50% of the time.

The Cubs are coming off a 103-58 record in 2016, including 46-34 on the road. Starting pitcher John Lackey had a 11-8 record with an earned run average of 3.35 and a WHIP of 1.06. He had 180 strikeouts over his 188.1 innings pitched and he gave up 146 hits last season. He allowed 7 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.81. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.50 and they gave up 365 base hits on the year. Teams hit .208 against the bullpen while being struck out 519 times and walking 199 times last season. As a team, Chicago allowed 6.92 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.88 batters per nine innings. They were 1st in the league in team earned run average at 3.13. The Cubs pitchers collectively gave up 1,125 base hits and 511 earned runs. They allowed 163 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Chicago as a pitching staff walked 495 batters and struck out 1,441. They walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.11 and their FIP as a unit was 3.77.

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As a team Chicago batted .256, good for 14th in the league while putting together a .258 average away from home. The Cubs held a .429 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .343 which was good for 2nd in baseball. They ranked 18th in baseball with 8.7 hits per game. Kris Bryant is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .385. He had 176 hits last season along with 121 runs scored and 102 runs batted in. He struck out 154 times and walked 75 times. Anthony Rizzo hit .292 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .385. He totaled 170 hits while scoring 94 runs and he drove in 109. He walked 74 times and struck out on 108 occasions. The Cubs had 1,409 hits, including 293 doubles and 199 home runs. They stole 66 bases and were thrown out stealing 34 times. Chicago walked 656 times last season and they struck out 1,339 times as a unit. They left 1,217 men on base and had a team OPS of .772. They scored 4.99 runs per contest and scored a total of 808 runs last year.

Los Angeles had a 53-28 home record and a 91-71 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 11.57, Hyun-Jin Ryu had a 0-1 record and a 2.14 WHIP last season. He had 4 strikeouts over the 4.2 innings he pitched during which he gave up 8 hits. He allowed 15.4 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 5.5. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.35 and they gave up 481 base hits on the year. Teams hit .218 against the Dodgers bullpen while being struck out 633 times and walking 204 times last season. As a team, Los Angeles allowed 9.37 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.19 batters per nine innings. They were 21st in the league in team earned run average at 4.28. The Dodgers pitchers as a team surrendered 1,266 base knocks and 598 earned runs last season. They gave up 165 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Los Angeles as a staff walked 464 hitters and struck out 1,510. They gave up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they struck out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.19 while their FIP as a staff was 3.61.

As a team, they batted .260, good for 9th in the league while putting together a .255 average at home. The Dodgers held a .405 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322 which was good for 14th in baseball. They ranked 16th in baseball with 8.7 hits per contest. Adrian Gonzalez comes into this matchup after batting .285 with an OBP of .349. He had 162 hits last year along with 69 runs scored and 90 RBI. He struck out 117 times and walked on 55 occasions. Corey Seager hit .308 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .365. He collected 193 hits while scoring 105 runs and driving in 72. He earned a walk 54 times and punched out 133 times. The Dodgers as a unit had 1,375 base hits, including 272 doubles and 189 homers. They had 45 stolen bases and were thrown out 26 times. Los Angeles as a team walked 525 times last year and they struck out 1,321 times. They had 1,106 men left on base and had an OPS of .728. They scored 4.48 runs per game and totaled 725 runs last season.

Chicago Cubs Betting Trends

The Chicago Cubs were 75-79-8 against the over/under last season

The Chicago Cubs were 87-75-0 against the run line last season

Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Dodgers were 69-83-10 against the over/under last season

The Los Angeles Dodgers were 81-81-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Chicago Cubs

No key injuries to report

Los Angeles Dodgers

No key injuries to report

Guy's Pick: Take the Cubs +100

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