St. Louis Cardinals (61-60, third in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (71-51, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (5-9, 5.15 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 110 strikeouts); Cubs: Clay Holmes (4-5, 2.86 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 46 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -187, Cardinals +163; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series.
Chicago has a 35-24 record in home games and a 71-51 record overall. The Cubs are 58-9 in games when they scored at least five runs.
St. Louis is 61-60 overall and 29-26 on the road. The Cardinals have a 42-21 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
The teams play Friday for the 11th time this season. The season series is tied 5-5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Crow-Armstrong has 24 doubles, seven triples, 27 home runs and 73 RBIs for the Cubs. Alex Bregman is 14 for 42 with two doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs over the past 10 games.
Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with 23 home runs while slugging .489. Ivan Herrera is 13 for 43 with five doubles, a home run and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 8-2, .270 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Cardinals: 7-3, .260 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Edward Cabrera: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Daniel Palencia: 15-Day IL (elbow), Hoby Milner: 15-Day IL (appendicitis), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Matt Shaw: 10-Day IL (hand), Riley Martin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Phil Maton: 15-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Gavin Hollowell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (tricep), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cardinals: Ramon Urias: 60-Day IL (elbow), Max Rajcic: 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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