Chicago Cubs (63-54, first in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (56-59, fourth in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jon Lester (9-8, 4.39 ERA) Reds: Luis Castillo (11-4, 2.63 ERA)
LINE: Reds favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs
The Reds are 26-29 against the rest of their division. The Cincinnati pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 4.02. Luis Castillo leads the team with a 2.69 ERA.
The Cubs are 26-23 in division play. Chicago has slugged .452, good for fourth in the National League. Javier Baez leads the team with a .554 slugging percentage, including 63 extra-base hits and 28 home runs. The Reds won the last meeting 10-1. Sonny Gray notched his seventh victory and Aristides Aquino went 3-for-4 with three home runs and three RBIs for Cincinnati. Kyle Hendricks took his ninth loss for Chicago.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eugenio Suarez leads the Reds with 108 hits and is batting .257. Aquino is 13-for-28 with a double, seven home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.
Baez leads the Cubs with 79 RBIs and is batting .290. Nicholas Castellanos has 15 hits and is batting .357 over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 7-3, .291 batting average, 3.65 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Cubs: 6-4, .292 batting average, 4.97 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Reds Injuries: Tyler Mahle: (hamstring), Derek Dietrich: (shoulder), Juan Graterol: (head), Curt Casali: (knee).
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: (hand), Brandon Morrow: (elbow), Brandon Kintzler: (pectoral), Craig Kimbrel: (knee), Kendall Graveman: (elbow), Steve Cishek: (hip), Xavier Cedeno: (wrist), Daniel Descalso: (ankle), Willson Contreras: (hamstring).
