The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers conclude a three-game series on Wednesday night.
The pregame narrative: The Dodgers look to avoid a sweep and they’ll need their big bats to do so. I’m predicting Shohei Ohtani to do damage while also placing a wager on Ian Happ to score a run for the Cubs. Lastly, I’m fading Bobby Miller’s outs prop.
Check out my Cubs vs. Dodgers prop picks for Sept. 11.
Cubs vs. Dodgers prop picks
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Best Bet: Ohtani over 1.5 bases (-109)
Ohtani hasn’t played up to his standard lately, hitting .250 with just three extra-base hits in nine games since the calendar flipped to September.
But I’m taking the value on his bases prop and am backing the slugger in what I perceive to be a plus matchup.
In an earlier meeting this season against Cubs starter Jordan Wicks, Ohtani went 2-for-3 and cleared this line before Chicago went to the bullpen.
Although it hasn’t been the best month for Ohtani, he has still recorded two-plus total bases in five of nine starts and three of his last five.
To add, over 50% of his hits have gone for extra bases this season (83 of 164).
Key stat: Ohtani leads the NL with a .985 OPS.
Quick picks
Happ over 0.5 runs (-113): The Cubs’ left fielder is another player I believe has a strong matchup today.
Bobby Miller has been pretty poor for L.A., recording a 7.79 ERA in 11 starts this season. In his one start against Chicago, he gave up five earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched.
Happ scored one of those runs and has scored 81 total runs hitting out of the leadoff spot for his team.
Hitting first in the lineup raises a player’s chances to score which is part of the reason I’m backing Happ against the Dodgers’ shaky starter.
Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger hit third and fourth for the Cubs and have combined for a total of seven hits and four RBI in the series.
The team as a whole has scored 16 runs so if Happ gets on base, I like his chances of scoring tonight.
Miller under 16.5 outs (-112): Not trying to pick on Miller too much, but this isn’t a line he’s cleared often.
In eight starts since coming off the injured list, the righty has cleared this line just twice and that was against the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays.
As previously mentioned, he also has a start against the Cubs that lasted less than two innings.
In a small sample size of eight plate appearances, Chicago’s offence has three hits and two walks off of Miller.
Picks made at 11:50 a.m. ET 09/11/2024.
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Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.