Chicago Cubs (44-38, first in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (37-42, fifth in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jose Quintana (4-7, 4.50 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 74 strikeouts) Reds: Luis Castillo (7-2, 2.56 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 109 strikeouts)
LINE: Reds favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Reds are 14-19 against teams from the NL Central. The Cincinnati pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.68. Luis Castillo leads the team with a 2.66 ERA.
The Cubs are 13-12 against division opponents. Chicago has hit 127 home runs this season, ninth in the National League. Anthony Rizzo leads the club with 19, averaging one every 14.9 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Iglesias leads the Reds with 73 hits and has 32 RBIs. Yasiel Puig is 11-for-36 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.
Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 92 hits and has 52 RBIs. Jason Heyward has 13 hits and is batting .382 over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .252 batting average, 4.08 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
Cubs: 5-5, .255 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Reds Injuries: Alex Wood: 60-day IL (back), Wandy Peralta: 10-day IL (hip), Tucker Barnhart: 10-day IL (oblique).
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: 60-day IL (hand), Brandon Morrow: 60-day IL (elbow), Kyle Hendricks: 10-day IL (shoulder), Cole Hamels: 10-day IL (oblique), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow), Carl Edwards Jr.: 10-day IL (shoulder), Xavier Cedeno: 10-day IL (wrist).
