Chicago Cubs (66-85, third in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (55-96, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Saturday, 6:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Wade Miley (1-1, 3.48 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 25 strikeouts); Pirates: Johan Oviedo (3-2, 3.69 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 42 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -110, Pirates -109; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to end an eight-game slide when they play the Chicago Cubs.
Pittsburgh has gone 28-45 in home games and 55-96 overall. The Pirates are 42-22 in games when they record eight or more hits.
Chicago has a 35-41 record in road games and a 66-85 record overall. Cubs pitchers have a collective 4.18 ERA, which ranks 10th in the NL.
Saturday’s game is the 18th time these teams meet this season. The Cubs have a 9-8 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with a .265 batting average, and has 17 doubles, four triples, 25 home runs, 53 walks and 59 RBI. Rodolfo Castro is 10-for-42 with three home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.
Patrick Wisdom leads Chicago with 24 home runs while slugging .433. David Bote is 9-for-33 with two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 2-8, .183 batting average, 6.11 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
Cubs: 7-3, .215 batting average, 2.73 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
INJURIES: Pirates: Tyler Heineman: 7-Day IL (concussion), Eric Stout: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), JT Brubaker: 15-Day IL (lat), Colin Holderman: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Yerry De Los Santos: 60-Day IL (lat), Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow), Canaan Smith-Njigba: 60-Day IL (wrist), Roberto Perez: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Blake Cederlind: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Drew Smyly: day-to-day (shoulder), Rafael Ortega: 60-Day IL (finger), Nico Hoerner: day-to-day (tricep), Nick Madrigal: 10-Day IL (groin), Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (foot), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Alec Mills: 60-Day IL (back), Steven Brault: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kyle Hendricks: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Heyward: 60-Day IL (knee), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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