The set-up: Two teams which can struggle to put runs on the board at times collide in the opener of this National League series. The visiting Dodgers go with Kenta Maeda, while the home side Cubs go with Tyler Chatwood.

The pitchers: Maeda is so far 4-4 with a 3.61 ERA. Maeda returned for the first time since May 29th from a hip injury on Wednesday and he looked pretty good all things considered, allowing two runs with one strikeout over five innings in what turned out to be a no-decision to Texas on Wednesday. Maeda will come in feeling confident after getting that start under his belt. And so he should, as note that he's so far 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA on the road this season.

Chatwood is so far 3-5 with a 4.12 ERA. Chatwood most recently gave up four runs off five hits in a loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday. Let's face it, Chatwood has for the most part struggled this year, so I won't try to sugar-coat his form. I will however point out that Chicago has already seen the total go "under" the number in 18 of 32 home games this season.

The pick: Clearly Chatwood can't be happy with his performance, but he does catch a break facing the Dodgers' "streaky" line-up. Maeda has been at his best away from friendly confines and there's no reason not to believe that that trend won't get carried over into this one. This total is indeed a little high. Play the "under."