Chicago Cubs (16-9, first in the NL Central) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (17-8, first in the NL West)
Los Angeles; Friday, 10:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 5.85 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
LINE: Dodgers -163, Cubs +137; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Chicago Cubs to start a three-game series.
Los Angeles has a 17-8 record overall and a 9-3 record at home. The Dodgers have the best team batting average in MLB play at .280.
Chicago has a 5-4 record in road games and a 16-9 record overall. Cubs hitters have a collective .357 on-base percentage, the highest percentage in the majors.
Friday’s game is the first time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Andy Pages has a .337 batting average to lead the Dodgers, and has four doubles and five home runs. Max Muncy is 13 for 36 with four home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games.
Nico Hoerner has seven doubles and four home runs for the Cubs. Alex Bregman is 14 for 43 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Dodgers: 6-4, .263 batting average, 2.72 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs
Cubs: 9-1, .325 batting average, 3.46 ERA, outscored opponents by 33 runs
INJURIES: Dodgers: Landon Knack: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Brock Stewart: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jake Cousins: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kike Hernandez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bobby Miller: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tommy Edman: 10-Day IL (ankle), Edwin Diaz: 15-Day IL (elbow), Blake Snell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Mookie Betts: 10-Day IL (back), Ben Casparius: 15-Day IL (shoulder)
Cubs: Caleb Thielbar: day-to-day (hamstring), Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow), Porter Hodge: 15-Day IL (elbow), Phil Maton: 15-Day IL (knee), Ethan Roberts: 15-Day IL (finger), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Palencia: 15-Day IL (oblique), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (tricep), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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