Chicago faces Milwaukee following Lester's strong outing
Chicago Cubs (55-49, second in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (56-50, third in the NL Central)
Milwaukee; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jose Quintana (8-7, 4.42 ERA) Brewers: Zach Davies (8-3, 3.17 ERA)
LINE: Brewers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Jon Lester. Lester threw seven innings, giving up zero runs on four hits with five strikeouts against Milwaukee.
The Brewers are 27-20 against teams from the NL Central. Milwaukee has hit 176 home runs this season, second in the MLB. Christian Yelich leads them with 36, averaging one every 10 at-bats.
The Cubs are 20-19 in division play. Chicago has a team on-base percentage of .327, good for fourth in the National League. Kris Bryant leads the team with a mark of .398. The Brewers won the last meeting 5-3. Freddy Peralta earned his fifth victory and Keston Hiura went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs for Milwaukee. Craig Kimbrel registered his second loss for Chicago.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yelich leads the Brewers with 36 home runs and is slugging .709. Hiura is 14-for-36 with six doubles, a triple, two home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 55 extra base hits and has 68 RBIs. Anthony Rizzo is 12-for-35 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 7-3, .250 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
Cubs: 5-5, .218 batting average, 3.80 ERA
Brewers Injuries: Brandon Woodruff: 10-day IL (oblique), Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Jimmy Nelson: 10-day IL (elbow), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Gio Gonzalez: day-to-day (shoulder), Jhoulys Chacin: 10-day IL (ribcage), Corbin Burnes: 10-day IL (shoulder).
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: 60-day IL (hand), Brandon Morrow: 60-day IL (elbow), Jon Lester: day-to-day (illness), Cole Hamels: 10-day IL (oblique), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow), Xavier Cedeno: 10-day IL (wrist), Daniel Descalso: 10-day IL (ankle).
