MLB SATURDAY PREVIEWS

The Boston Red Sox thought they had put their offense back in gear in the final game of a series win at Miami earlier in the week. Ryan Dempster showed them they still have a ways to go. Dempster shut down the Red Sox on Friday, giving the Chicago Cubs a rare victory. Dempster’s performance in the 3-0 triumph gave the Cubs their first shutout of Boston at Wrigley Field since Game 5 of the 1918 World Series.

The Cubs have yet to win a series this month and own baseball's worst record but looked strong in Friday’s opener. Team president and former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein looked on while his new team relied on the likes of Steve Clevenger and Dempster for offense. The players Epstein left behind in Boston have been struggling mightily, dropping eight of their last 11 to fall back to two games below .500 at 31-33. Scott Podsednik was the only Boston player with multiple hits on Friday while Kevin Youkilis saw his slump extend to 0-for-18 over his last six games.

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