Cubs and Braves meet, winner claims 3-game series

Atlanta Braves (89-63, first in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (84-68, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Wednesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: JR Ritchie (1-2, 4.50 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 53 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (10-10, 3.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 156 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -144, Braves +119; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves meet on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series.

Chicago is 84-68 overall and 44-33 at home. The Cubs are 67-14 in games when they scored five or more runs.

Atlanta has gone 38-36 on the road and 89-63 overall. The Braves have gone 63-23 in games when they record at least eight hits.

The teams play Wednesday for the sixth time this season. The Braves are ahead 3-2 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Crow-Armstrong has 42 home runs, 77 walks and 102 RBIs while hitting .279 for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner is 12 for 41 with a double and six RBIs over the last 10 games.

Matt Olson leads the Braves with 39 home runs while slugging .505. Drake Baldwin is 13 for 42 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .246 batting average, 4.65 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

Braves: 5-5, .241 batting average, 4.00 ERA, outscored by four runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Gavin Hollowell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Dansby Swanson: 10-Day IL (side), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (tricep), Trent Thornton: 15-Day IL (ankle), Riley Martin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Phil Maton: 60-Day IL (knee), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Braves: Reynaldo Lopez: 15-Day IL (right shoulder), Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (side), Bryce Elder: 15-Day IL (knee), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), Robert Suarez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)

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