Cubs and Athletics meet in series rubber match

Oakland Athletics (66-86, fourth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (77-74, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Wednesday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Brady Basso (1-0, 1.23 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 11 strikeouts); Cubs: Justin Steele (0-0)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -164, Athletics +138; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics play on Wednesday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

Chicago has a 39-34 record at home and a 77-74 record overall. The Cubs are 59-24 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Oakland has a 30-47 record on the road and a 66-86 record overall. The Athletics have the seventh-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .399.

The matchup Wednesday is the third time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ian Happ has 25 home runs, 75 walks and 85 RBI while hitting .249 for the Cubs. Isaac Paredes is 14-for-33 with a double and seven RBI over the last 10 games.

Lawrence Butler has 23 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 56 RBI for the Athletics. Brent Rooker is 13-for-42 with three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .290 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Athletics: 4-6, .240 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored by 16 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Brennen Davis: 60-Day IL (ankle), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jorge Lopez: 15-Day IL (groin), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (finger), Julian Merryweather: 15-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (forearm), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Athletics: Ross Stripling: 15-Day IL (back), Osvaldo Bido: 15-Day IL (wrist), Esteury Ruiz: 60-Day IL (wrist), Miguel Andujar: 60-Day IL (muscle), Austin Adams: 15-Day IL (forearm), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alex Wood: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.