Boston Red Sox vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/16/2023

Game Time: 2:20 pm ET, Sunday, July 16, 2023

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  MARQ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +115, Cubs -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +115, Cubs -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +115, Cubs -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Boston Red Sox:  49-43 (5th place, AL East)

Chicago Cubs:  42-48 (3rd place, NL Central) 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Sean Murphy is on a HOT STREAK in the MLB: 81-57 ($16.2K) this season! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Boston Red Sox:  9-1 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  4-6 last 10

The Red Sox are entering this series on a 5 game winning streak and completed the sweep 3-0 in their 3-game series against the Oakland Athletics in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-43 record overall and have a road record of 23-21. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. They also won the series opener of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .766 OPS. James Paxton is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Kutter Crawford is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 3-4 with a 4.11 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 0 HR, and 1 BB with 3 Ks on 7 hits through 4 IP against the Texas Rangers.

The Cubs are entering this series off of a win and won their 3-game series against the New York Yankees 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 42-48 record overall and have a home record of 21-23. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Red Sox on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. They also lost the 1st game of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 17th in the MLB with a .721 OPS. Marcus Stroman is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Justin Steele is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA this season. His team won their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 1 homer, and 0 BB with 5 strikeouts on 9 hits through 6 innings played against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The current betting odds have the Cubs listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cubs haven't been great this season with their losing record overall but they have been a lot better in their home games and will be looking to get after the Red Sox in this series who haven't been that great this season either, sitting in last place of their division. The Red Sox do have a good offense this year but the Cubs have also been putting up runs with a decent offense and the Red Sox have struggled a lot more with their pitching staff too. The Red Sox haven't had good pitching at all this season with their bullpen giving up a ton of runs and even their starter Crawford hasn't been great in his starts. He gave up 3 runs in his last start and this has been a common theme for him all year, going all the way back to his starts last season too. The Cubs are going to put up runs on Crawford and the Red Sox bullpen here as their offense has been better in their home games too. The Cubs also have Steele starting in this game and he has been their stud starter this season since he hasn't been giving up many runs at all. He did give up 3 runs in his last start but that was also one of his worst starts all season and he will be looking to bounce back at home here after having some time off to regroup. The Red Sox are not going to put up a lot of runs in this game and it will be the pitching matchup that is key in this game since the Cubs have the better starter and better bullpen right now. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cubs to win this game.

Red Sox Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, July 16, 2023 (2:20 pm ET start time) is Cubs 4 Red Sox 1.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks, best bets, and expert baseball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.

Boston Red Sox: 49-43 (+7.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 23-21 (+7.1 units) on the moneyline in road games. KUTTER CRAWFORD is 9-4 OVER in the second half of the season and 4-2 OVER as a road underdog of +100 to +150. 

Chicago Cubs: 17-30 (-14 units) on the moneyline when the money line is +125 to -125. 27-44 (-12.6 units) on the moneyline in an inter-league game. 14-8 OVER as a home favorite of -110 or higher. 18-12 OVER in an inter-league game. 

Boston Red Sox:  G. Whitlock (RP) Late July - Elbow. J. Schreiber (RP) Late July - Back. R. Bleier (RP) Late July - Shoulder. R. McGuire (C) Late July - Oblique. P. Reyes (3B) Late July - Abdominal. K. Ort (RP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. W. Mills (RP) out for season - Elbow. C. Kluber (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. T. Houck (SP) Out indefinitely - Face. C. Sale (SP) Early Aug - Shoulder. T. Story (2B) Late July - Elbow. Z. Kelly (RP) Early Sept - Elbow. A. Mondesi (SS) Out indefinitely - Knee.

Chicago Cubs:  B. Boxberger (RP) Late July - Forearm. D. Swanson (SS) Out indefinitely - Heel. N. Madrigal (2B) Mid Aug - Hamstring. B. Hughes (RP) out for season - Knee. A. Sampson (SP) Late July - Knee. C. Heuer (RP) out for season - Elbow. N. Burdi (RP) Late July - Appendix. E. Roberts (RP) out for season - Elbow.

“Obviously, today (the park) played pretty small here. We hit the ball in the air and we got rewarded.” - Alex Cora after his team’s win against the Cubs in their game on Friday.

“That guy (Devers) can hit, man. I'll tell you that. Just puts really good swings on balls, man. Obviously, one of the best players in the league for a reason.” - Kyle Hendricks after their loss against the Red Sox in their game on Friday.

Jarren Duran (L) LF

Masataka Yoshida (L) DH

Justin Turner (R) 2B

Rafael Devers (L) 3B

Alex Verdugo (L) RF

Adam Duvall (R) CF

Triston Casas (L) 1B

Connor Wong (R) C

Yu Chang (R) SS

Mike Tauchman (L) DH

Nico Hoerner (R) SS

Ian Happ (S) LF

Seiya Suzuki (R) RF

Cody Bellinger (L) CF

Christopher Morel (R) 2B

Jared Young (L) 1B

Miles Mastrobuoni (L) 3B

Tucker Barnhart (L) C

Batting Average:  Jarren Duran (.322)

Hits:  Justin Turner (97)

Home Runs:  Rafael Devers (22)

RBI:  Rafael Devers (72)

Stolen Bases:  Jarren Duran (17)

Wins:  Brayan Bello (7)

Saves:  Kenley Jansen (20)

ERA:  Tayler Scott (0.00)

Batting Average:  Cody Bellinger (.302)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (94)

Home Runs:  Christopher Morel (15)

RBI:  Nico Hoerner (45)

Stolen Bases:  Nico Hoerner (20)

Wins:  Marcus Stroman (9)

Saves:  Adbert Alzolay (7)

ERA:  Daniel Palencia (0.00)

Managers:

Boston Red Sox: Alex Cora (5th season, 3rd consecutive)

Chicago Cubs: David Ross (4th season)