How we see it goin' down: Sox - Cubs series

First Pitch: Friday 2:20, Saturday 7:15, Sunday 8:00

Arms: Friday: Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (0-1, 7.20 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (2-3, 2.31 ERA)

Saturday: Jon Lester, LHP (3-4, 4.57 ERA) vs. Jeff Samardzija, RHP (5-4, 3.96 ERA)

Sunday: Josh Beckett, RHP (4-7, 4.14 ERA) vs. Paul Maholm, LHP (4-5, 4.91 ERA)

                     Yard: Wrigley Field   Watch it:  NESN-Fri./ FOX-Sat./ESPN-Sun.  Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 31-32 (T-Last AL East)	Record: 21-42 (Last NL Central)
On road: 17-13	At home: 13-17
Streak: Won 2	Streak: Lost 2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Podsednik (.373)	Average: LaHair (.303)
Homers: Ortiz (15)	Homers: LaHair/Soriano (12)
RBI: Ortiz (41)	RBI: Soriano (41)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz/Doubront (7)	Wins: Samardzija (6)
ERA: Beckett (4.14) | Atchison (1.32)	ERA: Dempster (2.31) | Corpas (1.80)
K's: Doubront (81)	K's: Samardzija (72)

Last time

The Red Sox took 2-of-3 from the Cubs at Fenway last May. Salty homered in each of the victories, but took a back seat to Gonzo's performance. Adrian Gonzalez went 11-for-15 in the series, with a double and 4 RBI, with all 4 RBI coming in game 1. Overall, the Sox had a very good offensive series.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz

Big Papi seems to be the only sure thing for the Red Sox right now. I guess we can put Podsednik in there, but Ortiz's can really break this series open with his power.

Pitch Around: Alfonso Soriano

Now a 36-year-old outfield, Alfonso Soriano is not as intimidating as he used to be. But, he still can hit for some pretty good power. Soriano has a career .297 average against the Sox with 12 homers and 22 stolen bases. He was a terror on the base paths as a member of the Yankees, and it always seemed to kill the Red Sox. I have a bad feeling about Soriano at the plate in this series.

Don't Fall Behind: Ryan Dempster

His record does not reflect how well he is pitching this season. He hasn't received the run support he deserved and the Red Sox cannot allow him to keep the score down. The Sox will need to attack early with Dice-K on the mound, because we know he won't keep the Cubs off of the scoreboard.

How we see it goin' down

The Cubs suck and the Red Sox should have the upper hand. I would say sweep, but Dice-K squashes all thoughts of that. The Red Sox will win another series, with a probable loss today and winning the next 2.