Two division leaders will clash at Chavez Ravine on Friday night when the Chicago Cubs visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a key three-game series.
The Cubs had a day off Thursday and will play the seventh game of their nine-game West Coast road trip as a small -110 betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Chicago is 4-2 in the first six games of the trip and will send Mike Montgomery (1-1, 2.77 ERA in the National League) to the mound looking for his second win in his second consecutive start for the team after arriving in a trade from the Seattle Mariners.
Montgomery pitched well in his first start last time out in the second game of the trip against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit before hitting his pitch count.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon limited Montgomery to 60 pitches after he transitioned from the bullpen.
Los Angeles will counter with Bud Norris (6-10, 4.69 ERA), who just pitched twice against the Cincinnati Reds in four days following a rough outing in his first appearance.
Norris surrendered six runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings of a 9-2 loss at Cincinnati with four walks and three strikeouts a week ago before returning to the hill and pitching two-thirds of an inning in an 18-9 rout of the Reds on Monday.
Norris has pitched better at home, though, going 4-4 with a 2.77 ERA at Dodger Stadium, as opposed to 2-6 with a 6.89 ERA on the road, and beat Chicago in a 5-1 home win on June 10 as a member of the Atlanta Braves.
The Cubs have won four of the past five meetings with the Dodgers dating back to last season, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database. However, the under has been the play in this series recently, cashing in 10 of the last 11 games between the teams.
The lone over during that stretch came in the last meeting, with Chicago winning 7-2 at Wrigley Field on June 2. Three of the previous four games saw three runs or fewer scored.
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