St. Louis Cardinals (78-81, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (89-70, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 1:20 p.m. CDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (8-10, 4.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 96 strikeouts); Cubs: Colin Rea (10-7, 4.10 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 120 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -179, Cardinals +149; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series.
Chicago has a 47-31 record at home and an 89-70 record overall. Cubs hitters are batting a collective .249, which ranks eighth in the NL.
St. Louis has a 34-44 record in road games and a 78-81 record overall. The Cardinals have gone 38-62 in games when they have given up at least one home run.
The teams meet Friday for the 11th time this season. The season series is tied 5-5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Busch ranks third on the Cubs with 58 extra base hits (23 doubles, four triples and 31 home runs). Matt Shaw is 10 for 34 with two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs over the past 10 games.
Ivan Herrera has 13 doubles and 19 home runs for the Cardinals. Alec Burleson is 16 for 38 with four doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .249 batting average, 3.56 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
Cardinals: 6-4, .264 batting average, 3.50 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Cade Horton: day-to-day (back), Owen Caissie: 7-Day IL (concussion), Kyle Tucker: 10-Day IL (calf), Ryan Brasier: 15-Day IL (groin), Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (ankle), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cardinals: Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Masyn Winn: 10-Day IL (meniscus), Zack Thompson: 60-Day IL (lat)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.