Chicago opens 4-game series at home against Atlanta
Atlanta Braves (46-32, first in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (42-35, first in the NL Central)
Chicago; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Julio Teheran (5-5, 3.40 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 79 strikeouts) Cubs: Jon Lester (6-5, 4.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 75 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago and Atlanta are set to begin a four-game series.
The Cubs are 27-14 in home games. The Chicago pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.95. Cole Hamels leads the team with a 2.92 ERA.
The Braves are 22-15 on the road. Atlanta has hit 121 home runs this season, seventh in the MLB. Freddie Freeman leads the club with 21, averaging one every 14.5 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 40 extra base hits and is slugging .551. Willson Contreras is 10-for-26 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Freeman leads the Braves with 21 home runs home runs and is slugging .605. Josh Donaldson is 17-for-41 with three doubles, six home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .234 batting average, 4.24 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Braves: 7-3, .304 batting average, 4.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: 60-day IL (hand), Brandon Morrow: 60-day IL (elbow), Kyle Hendricks: 10-day IL (shoulder), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow), Carl Edwards Jr.: 10-day IL (shoulder), Xavier Cedeno: 10-day IL (wrist).
Braves Injuries: Mike Soroka: day-to-day (arm), Darren O'Day: 60-day IL (forearm), Sean Newcomb: 7-day IL (concussion), Kevin Gausman: 10-day IL (foot), Ender Inciarte: 10-day IL (lumbar strain).
