Chicago Cubs (18-12, first in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (11-19, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.54 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 24 strikeouts); Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 6.95 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -171, Pirates +143; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates look to stop their four-game home skid with a win over the Chicago Cubs.
Pittsburgh is 6-8 in home games and 11-19 overall. The Pirates are 8-5 in games when they did not give up a home run.
Chicago has an 18-12 record overall and a 9-5 record in road games. The Cubs have a 13-2 record in games when they scored five or more runs.
The matchup Wednesday is the second time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with eight home runs while slugging .531. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is 12-for-37 with two doubles and two RBI over the last 10 games.
Seiya Suzuki leads the Cubs with a .298 batting average, and has six doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 12 walks and 25 RBI. Ian Happ is 15-for-42 with a home run and six RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .274 batting average, 4.81 ERA, outscored by 16 runs
Cubs: 6-4, .275 batting average, 4.06 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Justin Lawrence: 15-Day IL (elbow), Timothy Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Gonzales: 10-Day IL (ankle), Spencer Horwitz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Eli Morgan: 15-Day IL (elbow), Tyson Miller: 15-Day IL (hip), Ryan Brasier: 15-Day IL (hip), Javier Assad: 15-Day IL (oblique)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
