Chicago Cubs (27-24, second in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (23-26, third in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Shota Imanaga (5-0, 0.84 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 58 strikeouts); Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (3-5, 5.77 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -139, Cardinals +117; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
St. Louis has gone 11-12 at home and 23-26 overall. The Cardinals are 14-2 in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Chicago has a 12-13 record on the road and a 27-24 record overall. Cubs pitchers have a collective 3.73 ERA, which ranks fourth in the NL.
Friday’s game is the first time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Masyn Winn leads the Cardinals with a .295 batting average, and has nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 13 walks and 14 RBI. Alec Burleson is 15-for-37 with two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
Christopher Morel has four doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 33 RBI for the Cubs. Mike Tauchman is 8-for-41 with a triple, a home run and three RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 8-2, .280 batting average, 4.15 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Cubs: 3-7, .169 batting average, 3.34 ERA, outscored by 19 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Riley O’Brien: 60-Day IL (forearm), Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (arm), Giovanny Gallegos: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Tommy Edman: 60-Day IL (wrist), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (back), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps), Keynan Middleton: 15-Day IL (forearm)
Cubs: Colten Brewer: 15-Day IL (back), Keegan Thompson: 15-Day IL (illness), Adbert Alzolay: 15-Day IL (forearm), Yency Almonte: 15-Day IL (shoulder), 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)
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