Pittsburgh Pirates (7-5, third in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (6-6, fifth in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski (0-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 13 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -152, Pirates +127; over/under is 6 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday to start a three-game series.
Chicago is 6-6 overall and 3-3 at home. The Cubs have a 2-5 record in games when they have given up at least one home run.
Pittsburgh has a 3-3 record in road games and a 7-5 record overall. The Pirates have the sixth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .338.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ian Happ has two doubles, four home runs and seven RBIs while hitting .200 for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner is 13 for 35 with five doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.
Ryan O’Hearn has two doubles and three home runs for the Pirates. Oneil Cruz is 13 for 42 with two doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .214 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
Pirates: 7-3, .242 batting average, 2.70 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Matthew Boyd: 15-Day IL (biceps), Cade Horton: 15-Day IL (forearm), Porter Hodge: 15-Day IL (elbow), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (knee), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee)
Pirates: Jared Triolo: 10-Day IL (knee), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.