Chicago Cubs (60-82, third in the NL Central) vs. New York Mets (89-54, first in the NL East)
New York; Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Drew Smyly (6-8, 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 84 strikeouts); Mets: David Peterson (7-4, 3.47 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 117 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets aim to stop their four-game home skid with a victory against the Chicago Cubs.
New York has an 89-54 record overall and a 46-25 record in home games. Mets hitters are batting a collective .258, the fifth-best team batting average in MLB play.
Chicago is 30-40 on the road and 60-82 overall. The Cubs have gone 32-67 in games when they have given up at least one home run.
Wednesday's game is the seventh time these teams square off this season. The season series is tied 3-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jeff McNeil has a .323 batting average to rank 10th on the Mets, and has 36 doubles, a triple and seven home runs. Eduardo Escobar is 17-for-38 with four home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
Seiya Suzuki has 22 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Cubs. Ian Happ is 7-for-32 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 4-6, .268 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Cubs: 4-6, .250 batting average, 3.58 ERA, outscored by four runs
INJURIES: Mets: Bryce Montes de Oca: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Starling Marte: 10-Day IL (hand), Max Scherzer: 15-Day IL (side), Brett Baty: 10-Day IL (thumb), Stephen Nogosek: 15-Day IL (oblique), Drew Smith: 15-Day IL (back), Tylor Megill: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Sean Reid-Foley: 60-Day IL (elbow), John Curtiss: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joey Lucchesi: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Rafael Ortega: day-to-day (finger), Nico Hoerner: day-to-day (tricep), Nick Madrigal: 10-Day IL (groin), Nelson Velazquez: day-to-day (illness), Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (foot), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Alec Mills: 60-Day IL (back), Steven Brault: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kyle Hendricks: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Heyward: 60-Day IL (knee), Keegan Thompson: 15-Day IL (back), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), 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.
