Cubs host Houston Astros, look to stop home skid

Houston Astros (22-31, fourth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (29-23, third in the NL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Peter Lambert (2-4, 3.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 35 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (4-4, 3.37 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 61 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -179, Astros +149; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs take on the Houston Astros looking to break their five-game home slide.

Chicago is 29-23 overall and 18-10 at home. The Cubs have a 23-4 record in games when they scored at least five runs.

Houston is 10-17 on the road and 22-31 overall. Astros hitters have a collective .403 slugging percentage to rank second in the AL.

Sunday's game is the third time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has four home runs, 25 walks and 30 RBIs while hitting .256 for the Cubs. Alex Bregman is 12 for 41 with a double and two RBIs over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 26 extra base hits (11 doubles and 15 home runs). Christian Walker is 8 for 37 with four home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 2-8, .194 batting average, 4.90 ERA, outscored by 21 runs

Astros: 6-4, .201 batting average, 3.34 ERA, outscored by seven runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Matt Shaw: 10-Day IL (back), Edward Cabrera: day-to-day (finger), Hunter Harvey: 60-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), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Astros: Jose Altuve: 10-Day IL (side), Yordan Alvarez: day-to-day (back), Hunter Brown: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Yainer Diaz: 10-Day IL (abdominal), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Bennett Sousa: 15-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (ankle), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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