The Cubs make the trip to Boston to face the Red Sox. Both of these teams have been solid with the Cubs jumping near the top of the NL, while the Red Sox are hanging around in the AL with a winning record. Our MLB odds series has our Cubs-Red Sox prediction, odds, and pick for Tuesday.

The Cubs have started the season playing well and have a 16-9 record, and come into this series on a three-game winning streak. Their bats and pitching are both in the top half of the league. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, and Dansby Swanson make up a very good offense for the Cubs. Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad are standouts for a pitching staff that has been ravaged by injuries, with their best option, Justin Steele, still being out. The Cubs have come on strong lately and have the depth behind the plate to compete with almost anyone in the MLB if they can weather the storm of injuries across their lineup.

The Red Sox have been solid to start the year at 14-12. They are also in one of the toughest divisions in the MLB in the AL East. Statistically, the Red Sox offense has started slowly, ranking in the bottom half of the league. Tyler O'Neill, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Connor Wong, and Masataka Yoshida are all talented players behind the plate, despite the slow start behind the plate overall. In comparison, their pitching has been red-hot up to this point, and is the best staff in the MLB when it comes to team ERA. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock have made up a very good pitching staff with all five being at least solid to very good. The Red Sox have a lot of potential this season and have shown it a little bit so far, but they have a tough matchup against the Cubs.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cubs-Red Sox Odds

Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+136)

Moneyline: -116

Boston Red Sox: +1.5 (-164)

Moneyline: -102

Over: 9 (-104)

Under: 9 (-118)

How to Watch Cubs vs. Red Sox

Time: 4:10 pm ET

TV: New England Sports Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cubs have not yet announced who they are starting at pitcher, but it will go either one of two ways. They will start Jordan Wicks based on their lineup or could give him an extra day of rest and go with their bullpen for this game. If they go with Wicks, he has a 1-2 record, a 4.70 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP. So far this season, he has allowed 15 runs on 26 hits with nine walks and 28 strikeouts through 23 innings. In his five appearances, the Cubs are 3-2. Then, in his last start, he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with zero walks and four strikeouts.

The Cubs' offense has ramped up this season and they are currently in the middle of the pack. They are 14th in team batting average at .245 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, and Nico Hoerner in most of the batting categories. Nico Hoerner leads the way in batting average at .300, in OBP at .385, and in total hits at 27. Busch leads the way in home runs at six and then Bellinger leads the way in RBI at 17. Jordan Winckowski is a decent matchup for the Cubs behind the plate too.

Why The Red Sox Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Red Sox are going with Jordan Winckowski to start on the mound. He's started out the year with an 1-1 record, a 4.20 ERA, and a 1.80 WHIP. His appearance also means the Red Sox will go deep into their bullpen. He's allowed 14 runs on 19 hits with eight walks and 18 strikeouts through 15 innings. In his seven appearances this season, the Red Sox are 4-3. In his most recent start, he pitched 3.1 innings and allowed one run and three hits with zero walks and one strikeout. Winckowski has a tough challenge against the Cubs offense, even if he only pitches a few innings.

The Red Sox's offense has been slow to start the season. They are 20th in team batting average at .237 after finishing last season with a .258 batting average. The offense is led by Tyler O'Neill, Triston Casas, Connor Wong, and Jarren Duran in most of the offensive categories behind the plate. Duran leads the team in batting average at .255 and in total hits at 28. O'Neill leads in home runs at seven, Wong leads in RBI at 11, and Casas leads the way in OBP at .344. The Red Sox offense has a chance to play well depending who the Cubs put on the line.

Final Cubs-Red Sox Prediction & Pick

Right now the Cubs are the better team than the Red Sox and that should show up in this game. They have more to like on offense right now than the Red Sox and if the Cubs start Wicks the difference on the mound would be marginal between the two teams. The Cubs win this game close, even on the road.

Click here for more betting news and predictions

Final Cubs-Red Sox Prediction & Pick: Cubs -1.5 (+136)