Saturday notes…

• SECOND THINGS SECOND: The Cubs’ loss last night dropped their record to 54-66 in all first games of series against the Dodgers at Los Angeles, and to 16-20 in first games after arriving from Chicago. In all second games at L.A., the Cubs are just 43-75. But they are 28-36 after having lost first games, much better than their 15-39 after having won first games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TOOTBLAN UPDATE: The Cubs have made six outs on the bases in their 16 games. At that pace, they will finish the season with 61. They ended last year with 58, which was second most among all teams behind the Reds’ 66. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THOSE TWO HITS: The Cubs had just two hits Friday night. Since Cole Hamels no-hit the Cubs in 2015, that was the 35th time the Cubs were held to two hits or fewer in a game. They actually won two of those games: Aug. 19, 2019 against the Giants and Aug. 26, 2022 against the Brewers. In the 2022 game, the only two hits were a pair of two-run homers by Ian Happ.
• KING TUCK, STILL HOT: Kyle Tucker has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games, batting .339/.466/.712 (20-for-59) in those 15 games with seven doubles, five home runs, 14 walks, 16 runs scored and 16 RBI.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Dodgers lineup:

Ben Brown, RHP vs. Roki Sasaki, RHP

Ben Brown has had a rough go of it so far in 2025, in two North American starts and a long relief outing in Tokyo. In the Tokyo game vs. the Dodgers March 18, he allowed three runs (two earned) in 2⅔ innings.

Brown has talent and throws hard, and I keep looking for him to have one of those games like this one last year against the Brewers. Perhaps tonight will be the night.

Roki Sasaki allowed the Cubs just one hit and one run in three innings March 19 in Tokyo — but he also issued five walks. Walks have been an issue for him so far, 11 in 8⅔ innings, and the Cubs have a reputation as a patient team. Hopefully they can do that again here and run up Sasaki’s pitch count. (And score some runs, too!)

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Dodgers site True Blue LA. If you do go there to interact with Dodgers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.