Cubs face the Mets leading series 2-1

Chicago Cubs (19-12, second in the NL Central) vs. New York Mets (15-15, third in the NL East)

New York; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Ben Brown (0-1, 4.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 22 strikeouts); Mets: Adrian Houser (0-3, 8.37 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, 14 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Mets -116, Cubs -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs bring a 2-1 advantage into the next game of the series against the New York Mets.

New York has an 8-10 record in home games and a 15-15 record overall. The Mets have a 5-10 record in games when they have given up a home run.

Chicago has gone 9-9 in road games and 19-12 overall. The Cubs have gone 13-3 in games when they record eight or more hits.

The teams play Thursday for the fourth time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Alonso leads the Mets with eight home runs while slugging .465. Starling Marte is 11-for-42 with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.

Nico Hoerner has 11 walks and seven RBI while hitting .272 for the Cubs. Mike Tauchman is 12-for-32 with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 3-7, .211 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored by 15 runs

Cubs: 6-4, .210 batting average, 3.62 ERA, outscored by six runs

INJURIES: Mets: Francisco Lindor: day-to-day (illness), Drew Smith: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Francisco Alvarez: 15-Day IL (thumb), Brooks Raley: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kodai Senga: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tylor Megill: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Peterson: 60-Day IL (hip), Ronny Mauricio: 60-Day IL (knee)

Cubs: Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (forearm), Cody Bellinger: 10-Day IL (rib), Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (back), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (hip), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (oblique strain), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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