This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Best Bets Tonight: Free MLB Picks for Cubs vs Dodgers, Tokyo Series Game 2
RotoWire's Michael Rathburn has dug into the best sports betting sites across the country to identify his MLB bets and MLB player props to target today. Cash in on the best sportsbook promos this MLB season such as the BetMGM bonus code for one of the best welcome offers available right now.
Yesterday - 0-5 (-2.00)
Season - 0-5 (-2.00)
Tuesday's season-opening game between the Cubs and Dodgers had neither team's offense looking sharp as the Dodgers won 4-1, but needed bad defense by the Cubs to put runs on the board. Freddie Freeman was a late scratch with a rib issue. His status in Game 2 is unknown, but I am going to assume he will not play. This along with Mookie Betts being out shows how much weaker the Dodgers lineup is without 2 of their 3 best players.
I had planned on taking the Cubs in both games on the moneyline figuring they go 1-1 and I turn a profit, but after seeing this offense in Game 1, I think under will be a better play.
Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez had 1 total base each but that was not good enough to get over their 1.5 total bases props. Smith had three walks, so getting on base was not the issue.
Needless to say, their home runs props fizzled out also. But if you notice, I only went with 0.5 and 0.25 units on the player props. The key is to pick spots and stay conservative. The 0-5 does not look great, but it was only a total of 2 units.
Chicago Cubs 
vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 
Justin Steele (L) vs. Roki Sasaki (R)
Cubs vs Dodgers Odds
- Dodgers -138 (FanDuel) / Cubs +132 (BetRivers)
- Dodgers -1.5 (FanDuel +114) / Cubs +1.5 (DraftKings Sportsbook -125)
Dodgers vs Cubs total
- Over 8.0 (FanDuel +/- 110), Under 8.5 (BetMGM -115)
Injury report
Dodgers - Mookie Betts (illness) is not going to play in either game. Freddie Freeman (ribs) missed Tuesday's game.
Cubs - Nico Hoerner (forearm) is listed as OUT.
The Cubs and Dodgers cap off the Tokyo Series with a start time of 6:10 am Eastern on Wednesday.
The Dodgers opened -155 and jumped up to as high as -162 and as low as -148. The total has seen movement with it opening at 8.5 and now sitting at 8.0 in most spots. I can not lay that number on a neutral field with two of their top three hitters out of the lineup.
It is easy to overreact after one game, but there are solid reasons why the game was low scoring and the trend could continue.
The Cubs have never seen Sasaki before and the Dodgers are without their number 2 and 3 hitters which has me leaning on the NRFI, especially after what we saw in Game 1. Both teams expected batting averages in Game 1 were low with the Cubs at xBA of .192 and the Dodgers at .224.
Going with the theme of this being the Cubs' first look at Sasaki, I will also correlate with taking his strikeouts prop over 4.5. He struck out five in three innings in his last spring training start. The Cubs are projected to start 6 right-handed batters Wednesday.
Check out what Caesars has to offer this MLB season and register using the Caesars Sportsbook promo code for a great welcome offer.
MLB Best Bets for Cubs vs. Dodgers
- Cubs/Dodgers UNDER 8.5 runs for 1 unit (BetMGM -115)
- Roki Sasaki OVER 4.5 strikeouts for 0.5 unit (DraftKings -115)
- Cubs/Dodgers No Runs First Inning (NRFI) for 0.5 unit (DraftKings -125)
Visit RotoWire all season long for exclusive MLB betting picks from our group of handicappers with their expert MLB picks each day of the campaign. Remember that betting apps vary in terms of odds and available MLB player props, so we have an easy-to-use MLB odds page that allows you to shop for the best lines at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and PointsBet.
Before you place your bets, be sure to use all of RotoWire's MLB resources, like our MLB Lineups page, MLB Weather page, and the best batter vs. pitcher stats.
