Boston Red Sox at Chicago Cubs (+112)

Two of the oldest franchises in baseball meet in Wrigley Field on Sunday night as the Cubs host the Red Sox.

BOSTON BANGS AND BRUISES

It's been a rough season for the Red Sox with regards to injuries. Josh Beckett will miss his scheduled start Sunday due to shoulder inflammation. Fellow starters John Lackey and Aaron Cook are out.

Joining them on the disabled list are Cody Ross, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, and Andrew Bailey.  That's a lot of salary sitting on the sidelines for Boston, which is nowhere near 100 percent healthy.

INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE

The Red Sox pointed to this series as the break they needed in the midst of a tough stretch of games. However, things did not start well in a 3-0 shutout loss Friday night. 

This is still the easiest series the Red Sox have faced recently, facing the likes of Baltimore, Washington and Miami. Boston also has tough series on deck versus Miami, Atlanta, and Toronto in the coming weeks.

The Cubs have also been struggling in interleague play this season, losing series versus Minnesota and Detroit.

SLUGFEST EXPECTED?

Franklin Morales will be making his first start since 2009 for Boston Sunday night.  The former Rockies arm faced the Cubs back in 2008 at Coors Field, allowing three runs and eight hits in six innings. Morales has spent most of his time in the bullpen this season as the team's long reliever. The lefty is 0-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 23 2/3 innings pitched.

Meanwhile, Paul Maholm is back to his struggling ways for Chicago. He has allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in his last three games, sporting a 5.87 ERA and 1.57 WHIP during that span.  He faced the Red Sox last season allowing one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.  Maholm has allowed four runs or more in four of his last six starts. This came after a stretch where he allowed just three runs total over four starts and 25 1/3 innings.

HITTERS TO WATCH

Geovany Soto 3-for-3 vs. Morales
Starlin Castro 1-for-2 vs. Morales
Adrian Gonzalez 3-for-11 vs. Maholm
Darnell McDonald 2-for-7 vs. Maholm

TRENDS TO WATCH

Boston is 4-10 in its last 14 Sunday games
Boston is 4-1 in its last five interleague road games vs. a left-handed starter
Chicago is 14-32 in its last 46 Sunday games
Chicago is 4-1 in Maholm's last five home starts