Cubs come into matchup against the Braves on losing streak
Chicago Cubs (27-16, first in the NL Central) vs. Atlanta Braves (30-13, first in the NL East)
Atlanta; Thursday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Ben Brown (1-1, 1.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 27 strikeouts); Braves: Chris Sale (6-2, 2.20 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 56 strikeouts)
LINE: Braves -163, Cubs +138; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs look to break their four-game losing streak with a victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Atlanta has a 30-13 record overall and a 14-6 record in home games. Braves hitters have a collective .334 on-base percentage, the fourth-ranked percentage in the NL.
Chicago has a 27-16 record overall and a 9-11 record in road games. The Cubs have hit 52 total home runs to rank fourth in the NL.
The matchup Thursday is the third time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson leads the Braves with 29 extra base hits (15 doubles and 14 home runs). Drake Baldwin is 11 for 39 with two doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.
Nico Hoerner has a .272 batting average to lead the Cubs, and has 12 doubles and four home runs. Michael Busch is 10 for 31 with a home run and 10 RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 7-3, .275 batting average, 2.69 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Cubs: 6-4, .202 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
INJURIES: Braves: Sean Murphy: 10-Day IL (finger), Eli White: 7-Day IL (concussion), Dylan Dodd: 15-Day IL (back), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee), Hurston Waldrep: 15-Day IL (elbow)
Cubs: Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Caleb Thielbar: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (tricep), Matthew Boyd: 15-Day IL (knee), Riley Martin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), 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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