The Chicago Cubs will try to start a new winning streak Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, one day after their 10-game run ended in a Saturday loss. Shota Imanaga is set to take the mound for Chicago, while the Dodgers are again without Max Muncy and remain short-handed with Mookie Betts and Edwin Diaz injured.
The matchup still has the feel of a game built for offense. The Cubs entered Sunday at 10-1 straight up in their last 11 games, and they have been hitting.321 with a.934 OPS over that stretch while launching 21 home runs. During the 10-game winning streak that preceded Saturday, they outscored opponents 72-31. The Dodgers, meanwhile, scored 12 runs yesterday and rank second in the majors with 5.67 runs per game this season, just ahead of the Cubs at 5.52.
Imanaga has been the steadying force in the rotation. Over his last four starts, he owns a 1.13 ERA and a 0.542 WHIP, numbers that help explain why Chicago is willing to trust him in a spot that could reset the tone after Saturday’s loss. The betting total is 9 runs, with the Cubs listed at +1.5 on the run line and the Dodgers at -1.5.
The series has also leaned toward runs. The Dodgers and Cubs have combined to hit the Over in five of their last six head-to-head meetings over the past two seasons, and both clubs have enough power to punish even a slight dip in command. Chicago is trying to prove that one loss did not slow a lineup that had been rolling for more than a week, while Los Angeles is asking its depth to hold up until its injured regulars return. If the Cubs keep producing at their recent rate, the Dodgers will have to match them again rather than simply outlast them.
For Chicago, Sunday is less about protecting a streak than showing Saturday was a pause, not a pivot. If Imanaga gives the Cubs the kind of start he has been delivering, this game can move quickly from rebound opportunity to another test of how dangerous their offense has become.
