Dan Johnson takes you through his preview, prediction, and best bet for today\u2019s baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels.<\/p>\n
The air is cold enough to thicken contact, the wind has a say in every deep fly, and the rhythm of the game tends to compress rather than sprawl. The Angels arrive at 3\u20133 having already played a 2\u20130 game in this series; the Cubs sit at 2\u20133 and are still searching for a clean offensive identity through the first week. With two left-handers\u2014Yusei Kikuchi and Matthew Boyd\u2014on the mound, today\u2019s mission should just be about actually turning baserunners into runs in a game that resists easy scoring. Nothing fancy. Below is my preview, prediction, and pick for today\u2019s baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how I\u2019ll play it. I\u2019ll be pumping out these predictions for individual games all season, with plenty of coverage here on\u00a0DraftKings Network. Follow my handle @dansby_edits<\/a> for more betting plays.<\/p>\n Los Angeles has the louder early offensive line at .217\/.346\/.399 with a .745 OPS, ten homers, and 36 walks in six games\u2014an offense built on traffic and occasional lift. Chicago\u2019s .213\/.316\/.350 (.666 OPS) through five games is flatter, with fewer extra-base hits and less consistent pressure. But the more interesting split is under the surface: Chicago\u2019s 2025 profile against left-handed pitching\u2014.251\/.318\/.433, .751 OPS\u2014suggests a lineup designed to survive this exact matchup, while the Angels\u2019 2025 split against lefties hovered closer to a .701 OPS. That is the tension point. Add in run-prevention shape and the game tightens further: the Cubs\u2019 staff has allowed a 1.18 WHIP through five games, while the Angels sit at 1.53, yet Los Angeles has still limited damage to a 3.53 ERA. Traffic exists on both sides; clean conversion remains elusive.<\/p>\n Chicago\u2019s offense is currently uneven. Ian Happ\u2019s early Statcast profile is loud\u2014north of 50% hard-hit, a barrel rate pushing into the high-20s\u2014and Alex Bregman\u2019s .190 average hides a 95 mph average exit velocity with a .393 xwOBA, the kind of underlying shape that usually turns into production. Pete Crow-Armstrong still matters here too, even if the first week hasn\u2019t fully opened up for him yet, because his 2025 season\u201431 homers, 29 steals, 95 RBI\u2014reminds you how quickly his game can turn one mistake into instant pressure. Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson give the Cubs contact and structure, but not much early lift, which is why so many of Chicago\u2019s innings have felt like drafts rather than finished songs. <\/p>\n On the other side, Mike Trout is already operating at a different altitude\u20141.100+ OPS, barrel rate around 25%, and a .500+ expected wOBA\u2014but he is one bat inside a lineup that still depends on accumulation more than eruption. Nolan Schanuel\u2019s .280\/.379\/.520 start and strong xwOBA underline that identity: on-base presence, moderate damage, and innings that ask for multiple hits rather than one swing. Zach Neto belongs in that frame as well. Even if the full offensive surge has not arrived yet, he is still the table-setting shortstop this lineup wants in front of Trout. His blend of contact, speed, and occasional pull-side pop gives the Angels another way to manufacture pressure without needing a three-run swing.<\/p>\n Angels vs. Cubs<\/a> pick, best bet<\/p>\n Chicago\u2019s 2025 splits against lefties is a legitimate baseline for how this roster is built, and Boyd\u2019s 2025 line (3.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP over 179+ innings) is cleaner than Kikuchi\u2019s 3.99\/1.42. If the Cubs\u2019 right-handed core starts lifting the ball, or if Boyd settles into last year\u2019s command-and-contact suppression profile, this game can tilt toward a more balanced scoring environment. And Wrigley, even in the cold, is never fully predictable\u2014one inning of mislocated fastballs can still unwind a tight script.<\/p>\n But the context keeps pulling the game back toward compression. The weather today is deep-dish suppressive, with temperatures around 40\u00b0F and wind patterns that have already played into a 2\u20130 result earlier in the series. That matters when neither offense is currently built on relentless slug. Chicago has already shown the shape of a lineup that can strand runners\u2014hitless in four chances with runners in scoring position in Tuesday\u2019s loss\u2014and their early-season line lacks consistent extra-base lift. Kikuchi\u2019s profile, meanwhile, is stable enough to trust in this environment: a mid-3s to 4.00 ERA arm with league-average contact suppression metrics (.327 xwOBA allowed in 2025) who have multiple paths to keep scoring muted. Add in bullpen usage that is at least moderately taxed on the Cubs\u2019 side after multi-inning relief work earlier in the week, and this starts to look like a game where innings drift rather than break open.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the shape this lands on. Chicago just needs to remain what it has been through five games: a lineup that can touch base without consistently cashing those opportunities in. Four runs requires sequencing, extra-base damage, or a true mistake inning. In this weather, against this profile, that is a higher bar than it looks.<\/p>\n Cubs team total under 3.5 (-135). The way it dies is straightforward: Chicago\u2019s right-handed core taps into its 2025 lefty-split ceiling and strings together one crooked inning, but all signs still point to a game that stays narrow, deliberate, and resistant to lift.<\/p>\n Final score projection: Angels 3, Cubs 2.<\/p>\n