Boston Red Sox (43-33, second in the AL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (30-46, fourth in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Rich Hill (4-4, 4.23 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Cubs: Adrian Sampson (0-0, 2.53 ERA, .84 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Sox -130, Cubs +110; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago Cubs after Franchy Cordero had four hits against the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Chicago is 15-26 at home and 30-46 overall. The Cubs are 8-15 in games decided by one run.
Boston is 43-33 overall and 23-17 in road games. Red Sox pitchers have a collective 3.64 ERA, which ranks fourth in the AL.
Friday's game is the first time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Willson Contreras has 17 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 34 RBI for the Cubs. Patrick Wisdom is 12-for-41 with two doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI over the last 10 games.
Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with a .328 batting average, and has 26 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 24 walks and 45 RBI. Alex Verdugo is 16-for-39 with two home runs and 10 RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .298 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs
Red Sox: 8-2, .286 batting average, 3.64 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: David Bote: day-to-day (shoulder), Jason Heyward: 10-Day IL (knee), Michael Hermosillo: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Daniel Norris: 15-Day IL (finger), Frank Schwindel: 10-Day IL (back), Nick Madrigal: 10-Day IL (groin), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Marcus Stroman: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (oblique), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (finger), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi: 15-Day IL (back), Garrett Whitlock: 15-Day IL (hip), Kike Hernandez: 10-Day IL (hip), Matt Barnes: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (back), Chris Sale: 60-Day IL (rib), James Paxton: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
