Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers preview, Sunday 4/16, 3:10 CT

Sunday notes...

• THE PLATOON ADVANTAGE?: Small sample size alert, but the Dodgers have been slightly worse (1-3) vs. LH starters so far this year than against RH starters (7-4), and also have a slightly worse OPS (.746) vs. LHP than vs. RHP (.819).
• THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED: The last time the Cubs won a series in Dodger Stadium was August 1-3, 2014, when they won two of three. (Of course, they also won two of three there in the 2016 NLCS.) Over the last 20 seasons (excluding 2020, when the two teams did not face each other), the Cubs are 24-42 at Dodger Stadium, their worst road ballpark percentage over that span anywhere they’ve played more than 12 games.
• HE’S HOT: Cody Bellinger, last 10 games: .316/.386/.526 (12-for-38), two doubles, two home runs, eight runs scored.
• HE’S NOT: Michael Fulmer, last three appearances: 2⅔ innings, six hits allowed, 10.13 ERA, 2.251 WHIP, two blown saves.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Dodgers lineup:

Drew Smyly, LHP vs. Julio Urias, LHP

Drew Smyly was much better in Start No. 2 this year than Start No. 1.

He made two starts last year against the Dodgers and the results were not good: 8.53 ERA, 2.211 WHIP. Yikes.

Mookie Betts is the Dodger who’s hit him best: .357 (10-for-28), three doubles, two home runs.

Julio Urias is the best pitcher the Cubs will face this weekend, and he has thrown very, very well this year, with a 1.50 ERA and 20 strikeouts (and just two walks) in 18 innings.

In his last start vs. the Cubs, July 10, 2022 at Dodger Stadium, the Cubs hit him pretty hard (five runs in two innings), but: a) L.A. won that game anyway and b) of the 12 Cubs hitters who played in that game, eight are not currently on the Cubs active roster.

So this looks like a classic mismatch.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Dodgers market territories).

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Dodgers site True Blue LA. If you do go there to interact with Dodgers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2023 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.