Cubs vs Dodgers Picks, Predictions, Odds & Starting Pitchers for Japan Series (March 18)

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are -162 moneyline favorites over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the Japan Series on Tuesday
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA in ’24) takes the ball for LA, while Chicago counters with Shota Imanaga (15-3, 2.91 ERA in ’24)
• Keep reading for the Cubs vs Dodgers picks, predictions, odds and starting pitchers for March 18, below

Hard to believe, but a meaningful MLB game is being played on Tuesday, March 18. The Chicago Cubs (83-79 in 2024) and Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64) will begin the 2025 MLB regular season in Tokyo, Japan, and I’m betting we’re going to see more offensive fireworks than projected in the MLB odds. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 am PT / 6:10 am ET from the Tokyo Dome, with Fox providing the broadcast coverage.

Cubs vs Dodgers Odds

Editor’s note: the odds in the table were updated at 9:40 pm ET, March 17. The remainder of the article was published at 1:59 pm ET.

LA is currently a -160 moneyline favorite, and +110 to cover the -1.5 run line. The total is listed at 8.0, with Chicago coming back as a +135 moneyline dog.

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Cubs vs Dodgers Starting Pitchers

There’ll be no shortage of hometown stars in this matchup, but none more popular than Shohei Ohtani. Both teams will feature Japanese pitchers on Tuesday, while the Cubs will trot out a homegrown hero on Wednesday as well. Chicago will turn to sophomore Shota Imanaga in Game 1, who’s fresh off a 15-3 rookie campaign. The World Series odds favorite Dodgers meanwhile, hand the ball to their own sophomore Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Prior to joining Chicago, Imanaga starred for the Yokohama Bay Stars. The 31-year-old was rock solid in his first season, and fared very well in two starts versus the Dodgers. Imanaga was 1-0 in those outings, yielding nine hits and three runs over 11 innings. The downside is, all three runs came via the long ball. That’s something he struggles with, as we’ll discuss later.

Shota Imanaga vs Yoshinobu Yamamoto 2024 Stats

As for Yamamoto, he was a member of the Orix Buffaloes for seven years before joining LA. His freshman season was derailed by injuries, but he did show flashes of greatness, especially during the Dodgers championship run.

He was brilliant in two starts against the Cubs last season, holding them to six hits and a single run over 9 innings. His spring so far has been underwhelming, more on that in a bit, and the Chicago offense has improved. The Cubs added former Houston Astros slugger Kyle Tucker to the lineup, giving them some additional pop from the left side.

Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction

Tucker is one of only four players in MLB with 100+ home runs and 75+ stolen bases over the last four seasons. His presence, along with a nucleus of Ian Happ, former Japanese League star Seiya Suzuki, Michael Bush and Dansby Swanson make this lineup a formidable threat.

The Dodgers have arguably the best lineup in baseball, led by MLB MVP odds favorite Ohtani. The 50/50 man is the catalyst, but the players around him are all dangerous. Names like Freddie Freeman, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy, among others, can all give opposing pitchers fits. Mookie Betts is out for the Japan Series with an illness, but the team added former New York Mets star Michael Conforto in the offseason. The rich get richer.

LA led MLB last season in OPS, and was top-three in runs scored, home runs and batting average. Not exactly a soft landing spot for Imanaga’s first regular season start of 2025. The lineups of both teams have me predicting a high-scoring game, not to mention the spring struggles of the starters.

Cubs vs Dodgers Picks

• Over 7.5 Runs (-118) at DraftKings

My best bet for the Cubs vs Dodgers is over 7.5 runs. Imanaga coughed up seven runs and nine hits this spring in only 11 innings of work. He allowed three home runs in that span, and his fly-ball pitching style is a recipe for disaster against LA’s big bats.

Yamamoto didn’t fare too much better, surrendering six runs and 15 hits in 13 innings. He didn’t exceed 75 pitches in any of his four spring starts, and rarely went deep into games a season ago. Yamamoto threw more than 5 innings in eight of 22 appearances. He’ll be hard pressed to exceed that distance in his opening regular season start, given his injury history and the strength of Chicago’s lineup.

The Tokyo Dome is a big stadium by MLB standards. There’s plenty of additional room in the gaps, making hard hit balls more likely to result in extra bases. That can only help my pick of the over.