Boston Red Sox vs Chicago Cubs Betting Preview 

Baseball betting gets back into full swing Friday with a 16-game card. We start the second half with a preview of tonight’s Red Sox vs. Cubs betting preview. Boston is 48-43, 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the American League East, but just two games out of a wild card spot. They’ll send Brayan Bello (6-5, 3.04 era) to the hill against Kyle Hendricks (3-3, 3.04 era) for the Chicago Cubs, who are seven games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the lead in the NL Central, and 6 ½ games out of a wild card spot. Bello opened a slight -120 road favorite with a total of 9 ½. (under -120). That’s a look at the Red Sox vs Cubs standings comparison; let’s continue our Red Sox vs. Cubs betting preview with a peek at both clubs.

Sox Need Bello To Carry The Weight Of The Staff

With all the problems the Boston Red Sox have had with injuries, it’s nice to know that Brayan Bello can be relied on to stop some of the bleeding. Over his last five starts, Bello is 3-1 with a no-decision, but in those five starts, the righty has allowed less than two earned runs in all five.

You won’t find any of the top home run hitters in MLB on the Sox, so pitching has to carry them. Boston has nine pitchers on the IL with Garret Whitlock, John Schreiber, and Richard Bleier out for a few more weeks minimum. Over his last four starts, opposing hitters have hit just .200, along with an OBP of .243.

In that span, the Dominican Republic native has allowed just one homer to go with 20 hits in 27.2 innings. Boston is 9-5 when Bello gets the start. Before we decide if that’s enough to put our money on the Sox, let’s swing our Red Sox vs. Cubs betting preview over to the Cubbies.

Cubs Need A Big Finish From Hendricks

Kyle Hendricks’ last outing against the New York Yankees isn’t exactly what they’ll need from their veteran pitcher down the stretch. Hendricks allowed 10 hits in 5 ⅔ innings, a game the Cubs managed to win 7-4. That was an uncharacteristic start with Hendricks, who has quality starts in five of his last seven outings.

The four runs were the most the righty has given up in a game this season. If there is one area that Hendricks would love some help in, it’s run support. In his nine starts, four of those resulted in his offense conjuring up two runs or less.

The Cubs are 6-3 when Hendricks takes the ball. If Chicago is to stay in the wild-card race, they’ll need a huge second half from Hendricks, Marcus Stroman, and Justin Steele. We conclude our Red Sox vs. Cubs betting preview with our official selection.

Bettors Undecided Eary On

This number (Boston -120) is strong, and early betting patterns support that, with just 51% of the moneyline dollars coming in on Boston, despite 77% also on the Sox. That means the bigger money is coming in on the Cubs, while the overall bet percentage can overcome that money to claim a higher money percentage. By the time you read this, that could easily change.

The Red Sox have won 8 of their last nine games, while Chicago has dropped 9 of their previous 14. This seems like an easy decision to make with our money, but Boston is just 16-18 against teams under .500 (-487) and 13-14 (-438 units) when the public backs them on the moneyline.

Chicago is 20-19 (+120 units) and 11-6 (+347) at home against teams over. 500. Take the Cubs and the small plus price in game one. That does it for our Red Sox vs. Cubs betting preview, we wish you all the best with your second-half wagers.
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