Lester expected to start for Chicago against San Diego
San Diego Padres (46-50, fourth in the NL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (52-44, first in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.04 ERA) Cubs: Jon Lester (9-6, 3.74 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago and San Diego will face off at Wrigley Field on Friday.
The Cubs are 34-17 on their home turf. Chicago has slugged .455, good for fourth in the National League. Willson Contreras leads the team with a .565 slugging percentage, including 34 extra-base hits and 19 home runs.
The Padres are 23-23 on the road. San Diego is slugging .429 as a unit. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the team with a slugging percentage of .598.
TOP PERFORMERS: Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 22 home runs and has 63 RBIs. Kris Bryant is 14-for-33 with four doubles, four home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Hunter Renfroe leads the Padres with 42 extra base hits and is batting .250. Manny Machado is 10-for-40 with a double, three home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for San Diego.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 7-3, .278 batting average, 3.31 ERA, outscored opponents by 21 runs
Padres: 4-6, .224 batting average, 3.97 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: 60-day IL (hand), Brandon Morrow: 60-day IL (elbow), 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), Willson Contreras: 10-day IL (foot).
Padres Injuries: Adam Warren: 10-day IL (forearm), Robert Stock: 10-day IL (bicep), Garrett Richards: 60-day IL (elbow), Jacob Nix: 60-day IL (elbow), Aaron Loup: 60-day IL (elbow), Brett Kennedy: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jose Castillo: 60-day IL (hip), Travis Jankowski: 60-day IL (foot), Franchy Cordero: 60-day IL (quad).
