St. Louis Cardinals (43-45, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (43-45, third in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Wade LeBlanc (0-1, 4.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 15 strikeouts) Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (10-4, 3.83 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 79 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -169, Cardinals +147; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago and St. Louis will play on Friday.
The Cubs are 27-16 on their home turf. Chicago has slugged .393 this season. Robinson Chirinos leads the team with a mark of 1.000.
The Cardinals are 20-27 on the road. St. Louis has slugged .376 this season. Tyler O'Neill leads the team with a mark of .557.
The Cubs won the last meeting 2-0. Zach Davies recorded his fourth victory and Joc Pederson went 1-for-4 with an RBI for Chicago. Carlos Martinez registered his seventh loss for St. Louis.
TOP PERFORMERS: Willson Contreras is third on the Cubs with 13 home runs and is batting .236.
Tommy Edman leads the Cardinals with 92 hits and has 23 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 1-9, .240 batting average, 6.96 ERA, outscored by 40 runs
Cardinals: 6-4, .261 batting average, 3.46 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Rowan Wick: (oblique), Ryan Tepera: (calf), Kohl Stewart: (elbow), Dillon Maples: (tricep), Jonathan Holder: (shoulder), Jake Arrieta: (hamstring), Eric Sogard: (thumb), Matt Duffy: (back), Kris Bryant: (hamstring), David Bote: (shoulder), Javier Baez: (thumb), Austin Romine: (left wrist), Jose Lobaton: (shoulder), P.J. Higgins: (forearm).
Cardinals: Kodi Whitley: (back), Daniel Ponce de Leon: (shoulder), Miles Mikolas: (forearm), Carlos Martinez: (thumb), Dakota Hudson: (right elbow), Jordan Hicks: (elbow), Jack Flaherty: (oblique), Tyler O'Neill: (allergies), Max Moroff: (shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
