The Los Angeles Dodgers start the 2025 MLB campaign as the +250 favorites to win the World Series again. If they do it, they’ll become the first team to win two consecutive baseball titles since the start of the 21st century.
Their roster did experience some big changes in the offseason, so we’ll get to see whether they’re as good (or even better) than last year in their first game of the season – Dodgers vs. Cubs.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| LA Dodgers | -162 |
| Chicago Cubs | +148 |
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan
- Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Time: 6:10 a.m. ET
- How to Watch: FOX
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Japanese Pitchers to Shine in Tokyo
The Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs game is played at Tokyo Dome, which seems more than suitable given that the Dodgers’ 2025 roster has several elite Japanese players.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start, the pitcher who previously played for the Onyx Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
He joined the LA team last year on a 12-year-long contract worth $325 million. He did play his part in helping the Dodgers win the World Series, but his season was hindered by injuries.
Fast-forward to 2025 and he’s expected to do way, way better. If he doesn’t meet the expectations, the Dodgers have another Japanese pitcher who’s ready to step up. The man in question is Roki Sasaki.
The 23-year-old former Chiba Lotte Marines player has already established himself as a top-level pitcher in Japan’s NPB. During his time in Japan, we saw him consistently hitting the upper 90s with his fastball and reaching speeds of 102 mph. Based on what we saw from this guy in Spring Training, he’s likely to continue where he left off.
Chicago Cubs Dreaming Big Dreams in 2025
The Cubs have come out of hibernation with an 11-5-3 record in Spring Training. That’s somewhat surprising given that they went through some big roster shakeups in the offseason.
Their most spectacular addition was outfielder Kyle Tucker, but the Cubs bullpen got a boost too with the signing of Ryan Pressly. The result is that they look like a team ready to maul past its back-to-back 83-79 finishes.
With these upgrades, baseball pundits are bullish on Chicago’s chances in the 2025 MLB. Some of them believe that they might even win the NL Central crown. Still, experts seem to agree that their chances against elite opponents like the LA Dodgers are somewhat slim.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction
The Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs odds favor the team from the West Coast, but their odds aren’t too short. Priced at -162, the Dodgers seem like great value as we honestly thought their moneyline odds were going to be somewhere in the ballpark of -250.
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers