Chicago Cubs (22-21, second in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (25-18, first in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (3-4, 5.27 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 38 strikeouts) Cardinals: Carlos Martinez (3-4, 4.36 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
LINE: Cardinals -100, Cubs -116; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: St. Louis and Chicago will face off on Friday.
The Cardinals are 12-5 against NL Central teams. St. Louis has hit 54 home runs this season, eleventh in the National League. Nolan Arenado leads them with 10, averaging one every 16.8 at-bats.
The Cubs are 9-12 against opponents from the NL Central. Chicago has slugged .409, good for fourth in the National League. Kris Bryant leads the team with a .615 slugging percentage, including 24 extra-base hits and 10 home runs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Arenado leads the Cardinals with 31 RBIs and is batting .304.
Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 28 RBIs and is batting .255.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 6-4, .247 batting average, 3.99 ERA
Cubs: 5-5, .283 batting average, 3.09 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Andrew Miller: (toe), Miles Mikolas: (right shoulder), Carlos Martinez: (ankle), Dakota Hudson: (right elbow), Jordan Hicks: (elbow), Tyler O'Neill: (finger), Paul DeJong: (side).
Cubs: Rowan Wick: (oblique), Justin Steele: (hamstring), Alec Mills: (lower back), Shelby Miller: (back), Trevor Megill: (forearm), Jonathan Holder: (shoulder), Jake Marisnick: (hamstring), Jason Heyward: (hamstring), Austin Romine: (left wrist).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
