MLB picks: Cubs vs. Indians, Padres vs. Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians will square off on national TV on Tuesday night. We’ll handicap that game below, along with an NL West clash between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicago Cubs (10-3) at Cleveland Indians (10-7), 7:10 p.m. ET

Bettors should expect both the Cubs’ Jon Lester and the Indians’ Adam Plutko to give a good account of themselves as they kick off a two-game series at Progressive Field on Tuesday night.

Lester makes his first start since Aug. 2 in this spot, as Chicago’s weekend series with the Cardinals was postponed. But the added days off should only help Lester, as he went 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA and 1.076 WHIP in five starts made on six or more days of rest last season. By contrast, he was 13-10 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.497 WHIP overall in 2019. Lester should experience little trouble negotiating Cleveland’s league-worst offense by batting average (.196).

Plutko, added back to the rotation following Mike Clevinger’s violation of the Indians’ COVID-19 protocol, has allowed just two runs in seven innings of work this year. His home splits from last season were solid – he was 4-2 with a 3.83 ERA and a .217 opponent batting average. The Cubs’ offense has been decent but not spectacular this year (12th in batting average at .238), and the unexpected days off probably didn’t help Kris Bryant and Javier Baez round into form – they’re batting .184 and .240, respectively, in 2020.

The Indians’ bullpen has produced a 0.87 ERA in August, the best mark in the majors, while the Cubs’ relievers have trended in the right direction after starting poorly – their August ERA is 4.74, 21st in baseball.

MLB free play: Under

San Diego Padres (10-7) at Los Angeles Dodgers (11-6), 9:40 p.m. ET

The Padres were able to scratch out a win over the Dodgers on Monday night via some gamesmanship, as they trotted out three pitchers over the first four innings and six in total in a 2-1 victory, but that will be hard to reproduce when these teams face off on Tuesday night.

Garrett Richards starts for San Diego, and he coughed up four runs in just five innings of work against L.A. last Wednesday. If he can’t go deep in this one, that will put more burden on a Padres bullpen that’s produced a 4.66 ERA in August (19th), even after their eight solid innings of "relief" last night. The Dodgers’ lineup is fifth in runs per game this season (5.18). Mookie Betts is on a roll in August, with a 1.239 OPS over his first 22 at-bats.

Ross Stripling counters for L.A. in a rematch of last Wednesday night’s 7-6 victory over San Diego. Things could have gone better for him (four earned runs on six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings), but his career splits against the Friars (3.88 ERA over 51 innings with 64 strikeouts) remain strong. He’s backed up by one of the game’s best bullpens (1.39 ERA).

MLB Free Play: Dodgers moneyline