The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs have been better on the road than at home so far this season. They will look to continue that trend when they wrap up a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball. So far in this series, each team has taken one game as the Boston Red Sox won on Friday night while the Chicago Cubs bounced back with a win on Saturday night.
The Red Sox entered Saturday with an identical record to Chicago but sat third in the American League East. The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are both off to hot starts, so Boston is looking up at both teams in the division entering Sunday night. They need to make up some ground and this could be a good spot for them to do that.
Details
Date: Sunday April 30th
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Line: Boston -120
Why The Cubs Might Win…
The Cubs rank in the top-10 in the majors in both runs scored and runs allowed so far this season. It’s only a matter of time before their win total more accurately reflects those numbers. Anthony Rizzo has led the way on offense with five home runs while Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward have hit three bombs each. Chicago’s .344 OBP is the second-best in the majors, which is a testament to their talent and depth. The Cubs will hope Kyle Hendricks can build off his last start. Hendricks held the Pittsburgh Pirates to six shutout innings, giving up just four hits in a 1-0 win. The Red Sox will provide a much tougher test for Hendricks so he will need to adjust against their powerful lineup.
Why The Red Sox Might Win…
Boston will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez, who has produced a solid 3.12 ERA to this point in the season. Rodriguez held the Baltimore Orioles to a single hit over six shutout innings in a 6-2 win in his last start. Sunday night will be another tough test so it will be interesting to see whether Rodriguez can slow down the Cubs. Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense has been a major disappointment so far this season. Boston ranks 26th in the majors with 83 runs scored despite the fifth-best OBP in baseball. It’s only a matter of time before the Red Sox offense explodes. It could happen versus Hendricks on Sunday night. The absence of David Ortiz has been a big problem in terms of this club’s ability to cash in runs. However, Boston has a talented and deep lineup and should be able to figure things out soon.
Outlook
The Red Sox will look to finish their home stand on a high note with a chance to make a statement against the defending champions Cubs. Chicago has been better on the road than at home so far this year but Fenway Park is a tough place to play and Boston needs to bring its best. If Rodriguez delivers another strong performance, the Red Sox will have an excellent shot at picking up the win.
Hendricks is coming off a strong outing but he’s struggled this season. He lasted six innings and didn’t give up a run on April 25th but prior to that, he had allowed at least three earned runs in every start. In total, he had given up 11 earned runs in his 16 innings of work before his last outing. Was Tuesday’s start an aberration or is he actually getting back on track? At any rate, Rodriguez seems like the steadier of the two options right now.
The Cubs will provide a tough test but we like Boston to weather the storm at home and find a way to pick up the victory at home. The other thing pointing us in Boston’s favor is that you don’t have to pay a lot. They opened as a -115 favorite and that’s a reasonable price to take the home team with the better pitcher on the mound. They should cash in on primetime.
Pick: Boston -115
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