Chicago Cubs (25-22, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (18-29, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 6:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Trevor Williams (2-2, 5.97 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 42 strikeouts) Pirates: Wil Crowe (0-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)
LINE: Pirates +120, Cubs -140; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the game as losers of their last four games.
The Pirates are 7-17 against NL Central opponents. Pittsburgh has hit 30 home runs this season, the lowest total in the majors. Bryan Reynolds leads the club with four while slugging .461.
The Cubs are 12-13 in division play. Chicago has hit 57 home runs this season, twelfth in the National League. Javier Baez leads the club with 11, averaging one every 14.2 at-bats.
The Cubs won the last meeting 4-3. Jake Arrieta earned his fifth victory and Joc Pederson went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and three RBIs for Chicago. Cody Ponce took his first loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Adam Frazier leads the Pirates with 62 hits and has 14 RBIs.
Baez leads the Cubs with 32 RBIs and is batting .263.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .247 batting average, 6.65 ERA, outscored by 35 runs
Cubs: 7-3, .274 batting average, 2.58 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Jose Soriano: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (right shoulder), Austin Davis: (elbow), Blake Cederlind: (elbow), Trevor Cahill: (elbow), Steven Brault: (lat strain), Ka'ai Tom: (wrist), Phillip Evans: (left hamstring), Colin Moran: (left groin), Ke'Bryan Hayes: (wrist).
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), Nico Hoerner: (hamstring), Matt Duffy: (back), Austin Romine: (left wrist).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
