Pittsburgh Pirates (13-19, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (17-16, third in the NL Central)
Chicago; Sunday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Tyler Anderson (2-3, 3.24 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31 strikeouts) Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (2-3, 6.07 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 27 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -178, Pirates +154; over/under is 6 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the game as losers of their last three games.
The Cubs are 9-11 against the rest of their division. Chicago is slugging .398 as a unit. Kris Bryant leads the team with a .643 slugging percentage, including 21 extra-base hits and nine home runs.
The Pirates are 5-12 against teams from the NL Central. Pittsburgh has slugged .345, last in the MLB. Colin Moran leads the club with a .468 slugging percentage, including 11 extra-base hits and four home runs.
The Cubs won the last meeting 3-2. Keegan Thompson earned his first victory and Willson Contreras went 1-for-2 with an RBI for Chicago. Sam Howard registered his second loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryant ranks second on the Cubs with 22 RBIs and is batting .304.
Bryan Reynolds is second on the Pirates with 14 RBIs and is batting .278.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 7-3, .266 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs
Pirates: 2-8, .218 batting average, 3.98 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Dan Winkler: (triceps), Rowan Wick: (oblique), Shelby Miller: (back), Trevor Megill: (forearm), Jonathan Holder: (shoulder), Jake Arrieta: (thumb), Ian Happ: (rib), Nico Hoerner: (forearm), Javier Baez: (back), Austin Romine: (left wrist).
Pirates: Jose Soriano: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (right shoulder), Austin Davis: (elbow), Blake Cederlind: (elbow), Steven Brault: (lat strain), Gregory Polanco: (undisclosed), Hunter Owen: (hand), Colin Moran: (left groin), Ke'Bryan Hayes: (wrist).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
