Chicago Cubs (67-66, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (62-70, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 12:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (3-10, 6.33 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 67 strikeouts); Pirates: Paul Skenes (8-2, 2.16 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 130 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Pirates -167, Cubs +140; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Chicago Cubs after Oneil Cruz had four hits against the Cubs on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh is 62-70 overall and 32-35 in home games. The Pirates have gone 22-11 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Chicago has a 67-66 record overall and a 31-37 record in road games. The Cubs have a 48-10 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
The matchup Wednesday is the 10th time these teams match up this season. The Cubs have a 5-4 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds leads Pittsburgh with 20 home runs while slugging .455. Yasmani Grandal is 8-for-25 with three home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
Nico Hoerner has 28 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 39 RBI while hitting .255 for the Cubs. Miguel Amaya is 15-for-35 with three doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .233 batting average, 5.31 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
Cubs: 7-3, .268 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Joey Bart: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Hunter Stratton: 60-Day IL (patella), Ke’Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (herniated disc), Andrew McCutchen: 10-Day IL (knee), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ryan Borucki: 60-Day IL (tricep), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Julian Merryweather: 15-Day IL (knee), Tomas Nido: 10-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jordan Wicks: 60-Day IL (oblique), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
