First pitch: Monday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles +170, Chicago -180, Total: N/A

The Dodgers will be looking to win the first of a three-game set against the Cubs in Chicago on Monday.

Los Angeles has lost two of its past three games heading into Monday and the team will be hoping to right the ship with a victory over the defending World Series champs in the series opener. This team has not been scoring runs and that is something that will need to change fast. The Dodgers scored just three runs total in the two games before scoring 10 in a win over the Rockies on Sunday. They’ll be hoping that game got them going, as they’ll need to score in order to keep up with the Cubs. Chicago, meanwhile, has won four of its past five games, and the team scored at least six runs in three of the past four. The Cubs will also be confident in this series, as they were 7-4 against the Dodgers in the previous two seasons. The starting pitching matchup in this game will feature a battle between two southpaws, as LHP Alex Wood (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 K) will take the mound for Los Angeles and LHP Jon Lester (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 7 K) will be taking the ball for Chicago. One trend that stands out when looking at that matchup is that Jon Lester’s teams are 11-0 against the money line in home games versus teams whose hitters draw four or more walks per game since 1997.

In Alex Wood’s only start against the Cubs last season, the lefty pitched five innings and allowed only two earned runs. He struck out seven batters in that contest, and the Dodgers will be hoping for a performance just like that one. They really can’t expect him to go any more than five innings, as he is not a full-time starter and they won’t want to risk blowing out his arm. Offensively, Los Angeles will need to find a way to get to Lester on Monday. One guy that is going to need to figure Lester out is SS Corey Seager (.308 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI). The 22-year-old is just 1-for-6 in his career against Lester, and the Dodgers will need that to change on Monday. Seager is their best hitter, and he is coming into this game after going 2-for-4 with a homer against the Rockies on Sunday. 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.350 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI) must also get over his demons against Lester. He is just 1-for-8 against the lefty in his career, and the Dodgers are counting on him to produce on Monday.

The Cubs are on a roll right now and one guy that has gotten himself going is 3B Kris Bryant (.269 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI). The 2016 NL MVP is 6-for-10 with two doubles and three RBI over the past two contests, and he badly needed to play well in those games. Heading into Saturday, Bryant was just 1-for-16 and really struggling at the plate. It’s worth noting that he is 2-for-6 with a homer and two RBI against Wood in his career. On the mound in this one is Lester, who pitched very well in his first start of the year. He allowed just one earned run in five innings against St. Louis in his Opening Day start. Lester struck out seven batters in that game, and he should get it going against the Dodgers here as well. He started two games against L.A. last season, going 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA.