Miami Marlins (4-16, fifth in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (12-7, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Saturday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Jesus Luzardo (0-2, 7.65 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Cubs: Javier Assad (2-0, 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -153, Marlins +130; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Miami Marlins with a 1-0 series lead.
Chicago is 6-1 in home games and 12-7 overall. The Cubs have a 9-1 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
Miami is 4-16 overall and 2-5 in road games. The Marlins have gone 0-3 in games decided by one run.
The matchup Saturday is the second time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Busch has six home runs, nine walks and 13 RBI while hitting .317 for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner is 12-for-36 with four doubles, a triple and four RBI over the last 10 games.
Bryan De La Cruz has a .286 batting average to lead the Marlins, and has four doubles and four home runs. Luis Arraez is 10-for-39 with three RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 6-4, .233 batting average, 4.04 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs
Marlins: 3-7, .204 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (oblique strain), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Marlins: Jake Burger: 10-Day IL (oblique), Christian Bethancourt: 10-Day IL (illness), Eury Perez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Braxton Garrett: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Simpson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Xavier Edwards: 10-Day IL (foot), JT Chargois: 15-Day IL (neck), Sandy Alcantara: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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