Pittsburgh Pirates (21-25, third in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (25-21, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Saturday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Bailey Falter (2-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 27 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (5-0, 0.96 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 51 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -178, Pirates +150; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Pittsburgh Pirates looking to end their three-game home skid.
Chicago is 13-8 in home games and 25-21 overall. The Cubs are 17-4 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Pittsburgh is 21-25 overall and 12-13 in road games. The Pirates are 15-1 in games when they scored five or more runs.
The teams meet Saturday for the sixth time this season. The Pirates are ahead 3-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Christopher Morel ranks second on the Cubs with 14 extra base hits (four doubles, a triple and nine home runs). Cody Bellinger is 13-for-41 with four doubles, two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.
Connor Joe has six home runs, 14 walks and 22 RBI while hitting .296 for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 11-for-39 with a double, three home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .227 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Pirates: 4-6, .234 batting average, 5.56 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Colten Brewer: 15-Day IL (back), Keegan Thompson: 15-Day IL (illness), Nico Hoerner: day-to-day (hamstring), Adbert Alzolay: 15-Day IL (forearm), Yency Almonte: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Dansby Swanson: 10-Day IL (knee), Daniel Palencia: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (hip), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Pirates: Ke’Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (back), Jason Delay: 60-Day IL (knee), Marco Gonzales: 15-Day IL (forearm), Ryan Borucki: 15-Day IL (left triceps inflammation), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
