Cody Snavely
Los Angeles Dodgers (10-4) versus Chicago Cubs (9-6)
LOS ANGELES — After only getting two wins on their six-game road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers return home to Chavez Ravine looking to get back on a winning streak after Sunday’s win in D.C. against the Washington Nationals.
The Chicago Cubs, the same team that kicked off the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season in Tokyo, Japan, during the Japan Series, will face them.
As you’ll remember, the Dodgers started out the season strong, going 8-0, the best start in Los Angeles Dodgers history and the best start of any defending World Series Champion, including two wins against these Chicago Cubs.
However, since that two-game series overseas, the Cubs have won nine of their last thirteen games, giving them a 9-6 record on the year, good for first place in the National League Central division.
The Dodgers are amid their first medical stretch of the season, dropping two of three in Philly and D.C., showcasing subpar pitching, defense, and baserunning.
After resetting their rotation in the final two games in D.C., the Dodgers will send their top three starters to the mound in this series, beginning with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, both of which had their starts pushed back by a day.
The Cubs will look to get back in the win column after dropping the series finale game to the Texas Rangers.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 1.69 ERA) vs Matthew Boyd (LHP) (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Two: Roki Sasaki (0-0, 4.15 ERA) vs Ben Brown (1-1, 7.71 ERA)
Game Three: Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 6.43 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, Marquee Sports Network
Game Two: 6:10 PM PT, SNLA, Marquee Sports Network
Game Three: 4:10 PM PT, ESPN
Who’s in & who’s out?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to activate all-star first baseman Freddie Freeman before tonight’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
Freeman missed the entire six-game road trip due to his ankle injury, which he reaggravated during a fall in the shower last Sunday at home.
While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that Freeman could play, the organization did not want to risk any further reinjury and opted to place the 35-year-old on the 10-day Injured List.
In Freeman’s absence, the Dodgers gave the keys to first base to utilityman Kiké Hernández, who was 2-for-20 on the Dodgers road trip with two home runs.
Freeman will be the only player on the Dodgers’ extensive injured list to be activated for this series. Lefty Blake Snell is expected to miss the next few starts, so the team will look for a viable replacement in the starting rotation, which for now is righty Landon Knack.
60-day Injured List (6): Clayton Kershaw, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt
15-day Injured List (6): Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Snell
As we approach the end of April, the Chicago Cubs roster is relatively healthy to start the season. However, the team suffered a massive blow when lefty starting pitcher Justin Steele was placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow tendonitis.
For Steele, it is the same injury that plagued the lefty last year, forcing him to miss a few starts during the 2024 regular season and a hamstring injury in April.
Steele was set to receive an MRI yesterday, but no further updates have been made as of this writing.
Also joining lefty Steele on the 15-day Injured List is former Dodgers relief pitcher righty Ryan Braiser, who is dealing with a left groin strain. Braiser missed most of the 2024 season with a calf strain suffered early in the season but is expected to return in May.
10-day Injured List (1): Vidal Bruján
15-day Injured List (4): Javier Assad, Tyson Miller, Ryan Brasier, Justin Steele
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