Pittsburgh Pirates (5-7, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (6-6, fourth in the NL Central)
Chicago; Thursday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Bryse Wilson (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, four strikeouts); Cubs: Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1, 18.90 ERA, 2.70 WHIP, four strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -143, Pirates +122
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs start a four-game series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.
Chicago has a 3-3 record at home and a 6-6 record overall. Cubs hitters are batting a collective .263, the third-best team batting average in MLB play.
Pittsburgh is 5-7 overall and 4-2 in home games. The Pirates have the 10th-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .354.
The matchup Thursday is the third meeting between these teams this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Frank Schwindel has three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI while hitting .261 for the Cubs. Jonathan Villar is 11-for-28 with two doubles over the past 10 games.
Michael Chavis has a double, a triple, a home run and six RBI for the Pirates. Daniel Vogelbach is 10-for-28 with a double, two home runs and three RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .258 batting average, 5.14 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Pirates: 5-5, .246 batting average, 4.03 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Alec Mills: 10-Day IL (back), Andrelton Simmons: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Wade Miley: 10-Day IL (elbow), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow), David Bote: 60-Day IL (undisclosed)
Pirates: Zach Thompson: day-to-day (shoulder), Duane Underwood Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Greg Allen: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Blake Cederlind: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Alford: 10-Day IL (wrist), Sam Howard: 10-Day IL (back), Max Kranick: 10-Day IL (forearm), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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