Chicago Cubs (26-22, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (18-30, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Thursday, 12:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 4.74 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 42 strikeouts) Pirates: Tyler Anderson (3-4, 4.73 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 51 strikeouts)
LINE: Pirates +120, Cubs -138; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the matchup as losers of their last five games.
The Pirates are 7-18 against NL Central opponents. Pittsburgh has hit 30 home runs this season, last in the league. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with four while slugging .452.
The Cubs are 13-13 against NL Central Division teams. Chicago has hit 58 home runs this season, eleventh in the National League. Javier Baez leads the club with 11, averaging one every 14.6 at-bats.
The Cubs won the last meeting 4-1. Trevor Williams earned his third victory and David Bote went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Chicago. Wil Crowe took his third loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Reynolds leads the Pirates with four home runs and has 18 RBIs.
Kris Bryant leads the Cubs with 52 hits and has 30 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 2-8, .246 batting average, 7.12 ERA, outscored by 39 runs
Cubs: 8-2, .276 batting average, 1.90 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 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), 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.
