Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Saturday, October 15th, the (91-71) Los Angeles Dodgers will be on the road to take on the (103-58) Chicago Cubs in game one of the National League Championship Series.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Cubs 5.2 – Dodgers 2.5 with an over/under of 7.8.

Starting Pitchers:

LAD- To be determined vs CHC- Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44)

Home vs Away:

The Cubs were (57-24) at home this season whereas the Dodgers were (38-43) on the road.

Batting Stats:

Runs Scored: Cubs 808 (3^rd) > Dodgers 725 (14^th)

Batting Average: Cubs .256 (14^th) > Dodgers .249 (22^nd)

On Base Percentage: Cubs .343 (2^nd) > Dodgers .319 (18^th)

Total Bases: Cubs 2359 (10^th) > Dodgers 2256 (18^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Cubs 66 (20^th) > Dodgers 45 (27^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Cubs 3.15 (1^st) > Dodgers 3.70 (5^th)

Batting Average Against: Cubs .212 (1^st) > Dodgers .233 (2^nd)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Cubs 1.23 (5^th) > Dodgers 1.19 (2^nd)

Strikeouts: Dodgers 1510 (1^st) > Cubs 1441 (3^rd)

Saves: Dodgers 47 (9^th) > Cubs 38 (22^nd)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Dodgers 80 (7^th) > Cubs 101 (22^nd)

Summary:

The Cubs hold the advantage in nearly every statistical category and have had more days off to rest.  Chicago won the season series (4-3) and outscored Los Angeles 19-14 in those seven games.  Cubs starter Jon Lester has had great success against the Dodgers holding their hitters to a combined .174 average against.  Lester has been phenomenal when pitching at home (10-2, 1.74) this season.

The Dodgers have yet to name their starter, but it won’t be ace Clayton Kershaw, who started game four and closed out game five.  These teams have played close low scoring games all season long and I expect that to continue in the playoffs when runs are harder to come by.  Ultimately the Dodgers were not a good road team all season and the Cubs dominate at home so I expect that trend to continue in game one.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s episode features an in depth discussion with VP of Octagon Sports: David Schwab.

Note:

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