Back Boston In Sunday Night Baseball Battle

Cubs vs. Red Sox, 7:00 ET

It is almost like something out of a movie. Okay, maybe it isn’t that storybook, but we have two of the most historic franchises in baseball taking the field on Sunday night. Not only are they playing, they are on national television with Sunday Night Baseball. It doesn’t happen all that often, but I really do enjoy these interleague series and I am happy the league made sure to make them happen every season. Tonight, the Cubs take on the Red Sox from the illustrious Fenway Park. 

The Cubs are playing significantly better baseball than I thought they would. I almost feel bad about my assessment or criticism of my team during the offseason, but being a winning team in April doesn’t mean that the team will win the division. There is still a lot of baseball to play and anything can happen. Maybe they end up trading for a pitcher, or another hitter for their lineup. Who knows, but right now, they are hitting well, and pitching well enough to look like they may be the best team in the division. Tonight, Jordan Wicks takes the mound and while his numbers don’t look great, he’s actually been fairly decent. He is coming off of a quality start in his last outing against the Astros as he went six innings and allowed just two earned runs. He has allowed at least two earned runs in all of his outings this season. Wicks has never faced the Red Sox, but you have to wonder a bit how the younger guy will fare on the national stage. 

Coming into the year, the expectations were low for the Red Sox, but being around .500 has to be a bit of an internal win for Boston. I am not expecting them to be a playoff team, or even for them to compete for a Wild Card, but mediocre success right now means they could be a couple pieces away from competing once again for a playoff chance. For the fans, this allows them to root for a team that isn’t bottoming out, but one that has also shown a penchant for spending money when the team is close. Tonight, the Red Sox send out Tanner Houck to take on the Cubs. He has been outstanding for Boston so far this season. If the season ended now, the guy might be in consideration for the Cy Young award. He has four quality starts on the season, including a complete game shutout. He has three games in which he hasn’t allowed a run and only one game where he looked bad. Against the Angels, he allowed 12 hits over 5.2 innings, aside from that he’s been great. The Cubs haven’t seen much of him either. 

This is a game the Red Sox should take. With Houck on the mound he should be able to navigate this Cubs lineup. I get it, the Cubs are playing well, and the Red Sox are just average. That doesn’t matter as most of baseball is dependent on pitching. In this one the best route to go is to play the Red Sox to win this game. 

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