Cubs-Red Sox match-ups at Wrigley Field are something rare

CHICAGO – They are two of the historic franchises in all of American sports in two iconic American cities, yet their chances to face each other have been quite limited over the years.

Before the arrival of interleague play 25 years ago, the Cubs and the Red Sox met just six times, with all of those coming in the 1918 World Series. Even since 1997, the National League and American League clubs have only played 15 times.

Just two of those have been at Wrigley Field, which makes the match-up this weekend in Chicago that much more interesting.

The three-game series between the Cubs and Red Sox starting Friday is the first match-up between the two teams at the Friendly Confines since the 2012 season. It’s only the third time the teams have played at Wrigley Field, with the clubs also playing in their first interleague series against each other in 2005 in Chicago.

When the teams met in the 1918 World Series, the Cubs’ home games were actually played at Comiskey Park since it featured a greater seating capacity than what was then known as Weeghman Park, which would become Wrigley Field.

Boston would take two of those three games on the south side, including a 1-0 shutout win by pitcher Babe Ruth in Game 1, and would win the series 4-2.

In the 2005 series at Wrigley Field on June 10 through the 12th of that year, the Cubs beat the reigning World Series champion Red Sox in the first two games before dropping the finale. The teams would meet at Wrigley Field seven years later in 2012 when the Cubs were in their first season under the leadership Theo Epstein, who left the Red Sox the previous fall.

Boston would win 2 of 3 games in that series with each club struggling that season to records that were well below .500.

The teams have met three other times at Fenway Park in the regular season: 2011, 2014, and 2017. In those contests, the Cubs are 5-4, including a sweep in 2014. Overall, including the 1918 World Series, Boston holds a 10-8 advantage.