Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs Preview, Prediction & Odds | March 18, 2025

The 2025 MLB season is officially upon us as we have the Tokyo Series giving us two games in Japan before Spring Training officially wraps up. We will see the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday morning. The Dodgers are sending right-hander Yoshinubo Yamamoto to get the Opening Day start while the Cubs are countering with southpaw Shota Imanaga getting the start here. It will be interesting to see how this game plays out with two veteran managers and teams that are a little depleted for this series. Let’s take a look at everything we need to know about the Dodgers and the Cubs before placing our bets on the Opening Day game.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs Odds

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs Match Details

• Fixture: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs
• Date and Time: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 6:10 AM ET
• Location: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan

Key Stats

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are officially the road team for this two-game series and it will be interesting to see how they do. The team is going to be without Mookie Betts as he is dealing with an illness but there is still a lot of talent from the defending World Series Champions as they added left fielder Michael Conforto, pitcher Roki Sasaki, former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, closer Tanner Scott, and setup man Kirby Yates during the offseason. This team has one of the best lineups in the game and should be able to take advantage and work counts.

On the mound for the Dodgers will be right-hander Yoshinubo Yamamoto for his second MLB season. He finished his rookie season going 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 90.0 innings (18 starts) and has struggled a bit in Spring Training, pitching to a 4.15 ERA in 13.0 innings. Do not expect the starting pitchers to have too long of a leash in this game. Yamamoto has a seven-pitch arsenal and had an 8.3 barrel percentage in 2024, so he can give up some hard contact. He faced the Cubs twice last season and went 1-0 in 9.0 innings and allowed one run (zero earned) on six hits with two walks and 16 strikeouts.

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs made some changes to their roster from last season and are looking to make the playoffs this season. The lineup lost center fielder Cody Bellinger but arguably got a bit better after trading for right fielder Kyle Tucker with the Houston Astros and signing second baseman Jon Berti as Nico Hoerner will not be ready after undergoing flexor tendon surgery in his right forearm in October. They also added a completely new bench with third baseman Justin Turner, catcher Carson Kelly, and outfielder Vidal Brujan. In addition, their pitching staff added closer Ryan Pressly and reliever Ryan Braiser in respective trades as well.

We have another Japanese pitcher on the mound in front of his countrymen in Shota Imanaga. Imanaga surprised a lot of people last season as he finished with a 15-3 record with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 173.1 innings (29 starts). However, in Spring Training he has struggled as he is 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA in 11.0 innings (three starts).

Imanaga faced the Dodgers twice last season as he finished 1-0 in 11.0 innings and gave up three runs (three HRs) on nine hits with zero walks and seven strikeouts. The southpaw has eight different pitches but relies on the fastball more than 50.0% of the time to get him going. It will be interesting to see his control as he had a 4.0 walk percentage in 2024 as well.

Prediction

There is a lot of things that can happen in these types of games and with this being the first game of the MLB season and being played in Japan, I am a little worried about the variance that can take place. The Dodgers obviously still have the talent advantage despite being without Mookie Betts, but this game can be high-scoring as we saw last year. Yoshinubo Yamamoto has shown to pitch well against the Chicago Cubs and I trust LA’s bullpen more as well. Let this game be more of a feeling out process than anything in terms of going crazy with pregame betting.

Final Pick

Los Angeles Dodgers ML (-155)