Boston travels to Chicago for inter-league play on Saturday, hoping to secure a victory over the Cubs.

For the Cubs, Jeff Samardzija gets the ball, charged with keeping the Red Sox hitters off the base paths. He'll face Jon Lester, 3-4 on the year.



View Boston vs Chi Cubs Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Cubs as +136 moneyline underdogs in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 999 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
The MLB Power Rankings at Odds Shark show the American League's No. 7-rated Red Sox taking on the National League's No. 14-rated Cubs in this contest.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Chicago's National League No. 13-ranked scoring average of 3.7 runs per game, against a Red Sox offense rated No. 2 and scoring 5 runs per game in the league. The Cubs have averaged 8.3 hits per game to date this season, less than the Red Sox hitters have managed (9.3 per nine innings).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Chicago has the National League's No. 12-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Red Sox own the American League's No. 11 mark in runs allowed.

The Red Sox were a 3-0 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Cubs. That made winners of bettors who got Chicago at +120 on the moneyline, while the total score (3) was good news for UNDER bettors. Boston didn't plate a single run in their last outing, shut down by Ryan Dempster in a losing cause, 3-0, against Chicago on Friday.




Boston Red Sox Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 6-4
Before playing Chi Cubs are 4-3
After playing Chi Cubs are 3-3
After a loss are 5-5

Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-5
Before playing Boston are 5-2
After playing Boston are 3-3
After a win are 4-6

A few Red Sox at Cubs trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games on the road
Boston is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Boston is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 7 games
Chi Cubs are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home
Chi Cubs are 7-18 SU in their last 25 games


Next up:
Boston at Chi Cubs, Sunday, June 17