Pittsburgh Pirates (70-81, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (79-72, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Wednesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mitch Keller (12-9, 4.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 198 strikeouts); Cubs: Justin Steele (16-4, 3.05 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 164 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -175, Pirates +148; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs bring a 1-0 lead into the latest game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chicago is 79-72 overall and 42-34 in home games. The Cubs have the fifth-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .419.
Pittsburgh is 32-41 in road games and 70-81 overall. The Pirates are 36-57 in games when they have given up a home run.
The teams match up Wednesday for the 12th time this season. The Cubs lead the season series 10-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cody Bellinger leads Chicago with 26 home runs while slugging .537. Seiya Suzuki is 12-for-36 with three home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.
Bryan Reynolds has 31 doubles, five triples and 22 home runs for the Pirates. Ke’Bryan Hayes is 13-for-41 with four doubles and a home run over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 3-7, .261 batting average, 3.69 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Pirates: 5-5, .248 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Nick Madrigal: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Michael Fulmer: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jeimer Candelario: 10-Day IL (back), Adbert Alzolay: 15-Day IL (forearm), Brandon Hughes: 60-Day IL (knee), Nick Burdi: 60-Day IL (appendicitis), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Pirates: Andrew McCutchen: 60-Day IL (achilles), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tucupita Marcano: 60-Day IL (knee), Vince Velasquez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Oneil Cruz: 60-Day IL (ankle), JT Brubaker: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jarlin Garcia: 60-Day IL (arm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
