Chicago Cubs (26-44, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (40-32, second in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: No starters named
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cardinals -159, Cubs +137; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs on Friday to open a three-game series.
St. Louis has a 21-13 record in home games and a 40-32 record overall. Cardinals hitters are batting a collective .254, the sixth-best team batting average in MLB play.
Chicago is 26-44 overall and 13-19 on the road. The Cubs have hit 69 total home runs to rank ninth in the NL.
Friday's game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Cardinals are up 3-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Goldschmidt has 17 home runs, 38 walks and 61 RBI while hitting .340 for the Cardinals. Brendan Donovan is 12-for-39 with three doubles and five RBI over the past 10 games.
Ian Happ has 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 35 RBI for the Cubs. Christopher Morel is 9-for-38 with a double, two home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 5-5, .260 batting average, 3.45 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
Cubs: 3-7, .261 batting average, 7.06 ERA, outscored by 34 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: T.J. McFarland: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Tyler O'Neill: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Yadier Molina: 10-Day IL (knee), Corey Dickerson: 10-Day IL (calf), Jordan Hicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Reyes: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Cubs: Daniel Norris: 15-Day IL (finger), Frank Schwindel: 10-Day IL (back), Nick Madrigal: 10-Day IL (groin), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Marcus Stroman: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Bote: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (oblique), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (finger), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Michael Hermosillo: 10-Day IL (covid), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
