Cubs take 4-game win streak into game against the Red Sox
Chicago Cubs 17-9 second in the NL Central vs Boston Red Sox 14-13 third in the AL East
Vini Jr focused on UCL amid Ballon d Or clamor
Chicago Cubs (17-9, second in the NL Central) vs. Boston Red Sox (14-13, third in the AL East)
Boston; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Ben Brown (0-0, 3.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 18 strikeouts); Red Sox: Josh Winckowski (1-1, 4.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -114, Red Sox -105; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs will look to keep a four-game win streak alive when they take on the Boston Red Sox.
Boston is 14-13 overall and 3-8 at home. The Red Sox are 11-2 in games when they scored at least five runs.
Chicago has a 17-9 record overall and a 7-6 record on the road. Cubs hitters have a collective .409 slugging percentage to rank sixth in the majors.
Saturday's game is the second time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jarren Duran has five doubles, two triples, a home run and 10 RBI while hitting .246 for the Red Sox. Connor Wong is 14-for-36 with four home runs over the last 10 games.
Nico Hoerner has seven doubles and a triple for the Cubs. Mike Tauchman is 12-for-30 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 5-5, .251 batting average, 2.80 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Cubs: 7-3, .268 batting average, 3.20 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs
INJURIES: Red Sox: Brayan Bello: 15-Day IL (lat), Tyler Heineman: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Triston Casas: 10-Day IL (rib), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Garrett Whitlock: 15-Day IL (oblique), Romy Gonzalez: 10-Day IL (wrist), Isaiah Campbell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Pivetta: 15-Day IL (elbow), Bryan Mata: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Vaughn Grissom: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Murphy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lucas Giolito: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Cody Bellinger: 10-Day IL (rib), Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (back), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (hip), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (oblique strain), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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