At Fenway Park on Friday, the Chicago Cubs (16-9) open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox (14-12), at 7:10 PM ET.

Oddsmakers project the Red Sox as a close favorite (-110 on the moneyline) against the Cubs (-110). The Red Sox will start Kutter Crawford (1-0) versus the Cubs and Shota Imanaga (3-0).

Before the Red Sox vs. Cubs matchup, here’s what you need to prepare for Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.

Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs odds and betting lines

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 3:16 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

• Favorite: Red Sox (-110, bet $110 to win $100)
• Underdog: Cubs (-110, bet $110 to win $100)
• Over/under: 7.5

Red Sox vs. Cubs: Live streaming info & game time

• Game Day: Friday, April 26, 2024
• Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
• Stadium: Fenway Park
• TV Channel: NESN
• Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)

Red Sox stats and trends

Red Sox betting records

• The Red Sox have been favorites in 11 games this season and won seven (63.6%) of those contests.
• Boston has a record of 7-4 in games when bookmakers favor them by at least -110 on the moneyline.
• The oddsmakers’ moneyline implies a 52.4% chance of a victory for the Red Sox.
• Boston and its opponents have hit the over in 11 of its 26 games with a total this season.
• The Red Sox are 14-12-0 ATS in their 26 games with a spread this season.

Kutter Crawford (Red Sox probable starter)

• The Red Sox will send Crawford (1-0) to the mound for his sixth start of the season. He is 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings pitched.
• In his most recent time out on Saturday, the right-hander went six innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing one earned run while surrendering seven hits.
• The 28-year-old has put up an ERA of 0.66, with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, in five games this season. Opponents are batting .163 against him.
• Crawford is trying to secure his third quality start of the season in this outing.
• Crawford will try to go five or more innings for his fourth straight start. He’s averaging 5.4 frames per outing.
• He has had three appearances this season in which he kept his opponents to zero earned runs.
• He will take the mound against a Cubs offense that is batting .243 as a unit (15th in MLB). It is also slugging a collective .407 (fifth in MLB) with 28 total home runs (sixth in MLB).
• The 28-year-old’s 0.66 ERA ranks first, .988 WHIP ranks 18th, and 9.9 K/9 ranks 24th among qualifying pitchers this season.

Red Sox batting stats

• The Red Sox rank second in Major League Baseball with 33 home runs.
• Hitters for Boston have a combined .405 slugging percentage this season, which ranks sixth in MLB.
• The Red Sox rank 19th in MLB with a .237 team batting average.
• Boston has scored the 12th-most runs in the majors this season with 116 (4.5 per game).
• The Red Sox have the 17th-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.311).
• Boston is one of the least-disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking last with an average of 10.0 strikeouts per game.

Cubs stats and trends

Cubs betting records

• The Cubs have won in 10, or 58.8%, of the 17 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
• Chicago has a win-loss record of 10-7 when favored by -110 or worse by bookmakers this year.
• Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Cubs have a 52.4% chance of pulling out a win.
• Chicago’s games have gone over the total in 11 of its 25 opportunities.
• In 24 games with a line this season, the Cubs have a mark of 17-7-0 against the spread.

Shota Imanaga (Cubs probable starter)

• Imanaga makes the start for the Cubs, his fifth of the season. He is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings pitched.
• The left-hander’s last appearance was on Saturday against the Miami Marlins, when he went six innings, surrendering two earned runs while giving up five hits.
• The 30-year-old has an ERA of 0.84, with 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings in four games this season. Opposing batters have a .175 batting average against him.
• Imanaga enters the outing with two quality starts under his belt this season.
• Imanaga is aiming for his third straight outing lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.3 innings per start.
• In three of his four total appearances this season he has not given up an earned run.
• He will take the mound against a Red Sox offense that ranks 15th in the league with 210 total hits (on a .237 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .405 (sixth in the league) with 33 total home runs (second in MLB play).

Cubs batting stats

• The Cubs are sixth in MLB action with 28 home runs. They average 1.1 per game.
• So far this year, Chicago’s .407 slugging percentage is fifth-best in baseball.
• The Cubs are 15th in the majors with a .243 batting average.
• Chicago is the seventh-highest scoring team in the majors, averaging 5.3 runs per game (133 total).
• The Cubs are seventh in the majors with an on-base percentage of .326.