NEWSLETTER
Cubs vs Red Sox — The Brewers keep winning, but the Chicago Cubs are on a roll. Even without Seiya Suzuki, Justin Steele, Cody Bellinger, and Julian Merryweather (among others), the Cubs have won three games in a row, 7 of their last 10, and 9 of their last 12. And now they’re headed out east to take on the Boston Red Sox for three games at Fenway, before heading to New York for four straight against the Mets.
After a nice start to the year (7-3), the Red Sox lost nine of their next 16 games, bringing them down to just two games over .500. But don’t take them for granted. They’ve got some stuff working.
For example, their starting rotation is carrying a league-leading 2.05 ERA into this series. And the Cubs are getting two of their three most successful starters, Kutter Crawford (0.66 ERA over 5 starts) and Tanner Houck (1.65 ERA over 5 starts).
Krawford has struck out 30 batters in 27.1 IP and has allowed two earned runs total on the year. He’s been particularly good at limiting hard contact. And his only real flaw is walking too many guys (that could work out for the Cubs, who are a pretty patient team this year).
But, hey, the Cubs have a couple of solid starters going, themselves. Shota Imanaga, starting tonight, has also allowed just two earned runs so far this season, and has walked only 2 batters in 21.1 IP. Meanwhile, Jordan Wicks, pitching on Sunday, impresses us more and more every time he picks up a baseball. And seeing as the Red Sox (105 wRC+) are just slightly better than middle of the pack versus lefties this year, I’d say they’re in a good position to succeed.
We don’t technically know who’s going to start for the Cubs on Saturday, but after Hayden Wesneski was used in relief last night, it seems more likely to be Ben Brown, who got in an inning of work, himself, during the Astros series.
Like I said, after this, the Cubs will go off to face the Mets, but then it’s back home for six straight against the Brewers and Padres. And six more against the Braves loom before the last week of May. The Cubs have bee fortunate to keep winning as much as they have, but the schedule is not getting any easier. Let’s see what they can do.
Cubs vs Red Sox – Pitching Probables:
Game 1:Â Friday, April 26 at 6:10 CT at Fenway Park
Broadcast Info:Â Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Game 2:Â Saturday, April 27 at 3:10 CT at Fenway Park
Broadcast Info:Â Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Game 3:Â Sunday, April 28 at 6:10 CT at Fenway Park
Broadcast Info:Â ESPN, 670 The Score
