Boston Red Sox (14-12) vs Chicago Cubs (16-9)
April 27, 2024 at 04:10 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Boston Red Sox -110 / Chicago Cubs -110 — Over/Under:
The Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox meet Saturday in MLB action from Fenway Park. Here’s a Chicago Cubs vs Boston Red Sox prediction. This will be the second installment in a three-game series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
• The Chicago Cubs recent form and player performance
• The Boston Red Sox recent form and player performance
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Chicago Cubs
• Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Boston Red Sox
• Recent betting trends in games played between the Cubs and Red Sox
• A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Cubs vs Red Sox game
Chicago Cubs Betting Preview
The Cubs took on the Houston Astros in their early-week series. Chicago played well in that one, bagging the three-game sweep with wins 7-2, 4-3 and 3-1. On Friday versus the Red Sox, the Cubs bagged 14 team hits in a 7-1 blowout win. Shota Imanaga lasted 6.1 innings with one earned on five hits and a walk.
For the starting pitcher role on Saturday the Cubs are going with Ben Brown. In his first six games (two starts), Brown has a 3.72 ERA without a decision. He’s got 18 Ks in 19.1 innings.
Boston Red Sox Betting Preview
Over on the Red Sox’ side, they played the Cleveland Guardians in their last set. Boston lost Tuesday 4-1 and Thursday 6-4 but otherwise took a win 8-0 in the middle game. In the opener versus the Cubs, the Sox gave up three runs in the seventh inning alone. Kutter Crawford surrendered three runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings.
It’ll be Josh Winckowski in the starting pitcher role for the Red Sox on Saturday. In eight games (one start) so far this year Winckowski is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 15.0 frames. Winckowski is 10-12 with a 4.24 ERA in 83 career games (16 starts).
Cubs vs Red Sox Injury Notes
Cubs SP Kyle Hendricks will throw a bullpen session in Boston over the weekend.
Red Sox SS Romy Gonzalez has progressed slowly after a wrist issue and is not considered near a return from the 10-day Injured List.
Boston Red Sox Player Prop Facts
- Rafael Devers has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 10 appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Triston Casas has scored at least one run in seven of his last eight home appearances against NL opponents.
- Rafael Devers has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Connor Wong has recorded at least one Single in seven of his last eight home appearances against NL opponents.
- Rafael Devers has recorded at least one RBI in six of the Red Sox’s last seven home games against NL Central opponents.
- Triston Casas has hit a home run in four of his last five appearances against NL Central opponents.
Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts
- Seiya Suzuki has recorded at least one total base in each of his nine previous road appearances against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- Dansby Swanson has scored at least one run in each of the Cubs’ last six games against AL opponents.
- Seiya Suzuki has recorded at least one hit in each of his nine previous road appearances against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- Nico Hoerner has recorded at least one Single in eight of his last nine appearances in day games against teams that held a winning record.
- Ian Happ has recorded a Double in four of his last five appearances in day games against teams that held a winning record.
- Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last six appearances.
- Patrick Wisdom has hit a home run in two of his last three appearances in day games against AL East teams that held a winning record.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Boston Red Sox rank 30th in the league for strikeouts against this season (270).
- The Boston Red Sox rank 1st in the league for ERA this season (2.73).
- The Chicago Cubs rank 1st in the league for triples this season (8).
- The Chicago Cubs rank 29th in the league for steals this season (8).
Chicago Cubs vs Boston Red Sox Prediction
I’ll take a stab on the Red Sox. It would be nice to see Winckowski post four innings or so here, however. He’s got four earned over his last 5.1 innings. That said, Winckowski did pretty well in Pittsburgh his last time up with one earned in 3.1 frames on three hits and zero walks. If he’s on point, Winckowski should be able to set the Sox bullpen up well here.
On Friday Boston had a pretty rough night on the mound. The good news on offense is that seven different players got on base, but there weren’t too many fireworks on seven team hits. I still like the Sox to even things up in game two, though.