After a humbling East Coast swing, the Los Angeles Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium this weekend looking to rediscover their early-season dominance. The 10-4 Dodgers will host the 9-6 Chicago Cubs in a three-game set starting Friday night, marking the latest chapter in a matchup that began halfway across the world.<\/p>
The two teams previously squared off in Tokyo to open the season, with the Dodgers taking both games in what were just technically Cubs “home” contests. Now, the series shifts to Los Angeles before the clubs meet again in Chicago later this month.<\/p>
The Dodgers ripped through their first eight games before going 2-4 on the road against the Phillies and Nationals. They narrowly avoided a sweep in Washington on Wednesday, thanks to a clutch homer and three-RBI night<\/a> from Teoscar Hernández in a 6-5 win. The Cubs, meanwhile, are playing confident baseball. They’ve won seven of their last nine, with their most recent loss coming in a 6-2 defeat to the defending champion Texas Rangers.<\/p> Friday night’s opener features one of the most anticipated pitching duels of the week. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 1.69 ERA) gets the ball for the Dodgers in what will be his fourth start. Yamamoto has struck out 19 over 16 2\/3 innings and has already stifled the Cubs once this season. In his debut on March 18, he allowed just one run across five innings to pick up the win. <\/p>