Slumping Giants look to end 3-game slide against Cubs
San Francisco Giants (63-64, third in the NL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (68-58, first in the NL Central)
Chicago; Thursday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Jeff Samardzija (9-9, 3.54 ERA) Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 3.37 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: San Francisco enters the matchup as losers of their last three games.
The Cubs are 43-19 on their home turf. Chicago has a collective on-base percentage of .329, good for fourth in the National League. Anthony Rizzo leads the team with a mark of .398.
The Giants are 34-31 on the road. San Francisco hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .305 this season, led by Brandon Belt with a mark of .337. The Cubs won the last meeting 12-11. Brandon Kintzler secured his third victory and Nicholas Castellanos went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for Chicago. Reyes Moronta registered his seventh loss for San Francisco.
TOP PERFORMERS: Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 82 RBIs and is batting .284. Castellanos has 16 hits and is batting .381 over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Kevin Pillar leads the Giants with 19 home runs home runs and is slugging .454. Evan Longoria is 15-for-37 with a double, three home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for San Francisco.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .232 batting average, 5.23 ERA, outscored by 10 runs
Giants: 6-4, .287 batting average, 5.56 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: (hand), Brandon Morrow: (elbow), Craig Kimbrel: (knee), Kendall Graveman: (elbow), Xavier Cedeno: (wrist), Daniel Descalso: (ankle), Willson Contreras: (hamstring).
Giants Injuries: Johnny Cueto: (elbow), Shaun Anderson: (finger), Steven Duggar: (shoulder), Pablo Sandoval: (elbow).
