Darvish expected to start for Chicago at Cincinnati

Chicago Cubs (4-2, first in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (2-4, fifth in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Thursday, 6:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Yu Darvish (0-1, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 5 strikeouts) Reds: Luis Castillo (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)

LINE: Reds favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds play the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

The Reds went 33-43 in division play in 2019. Cincinnati averaged 8.2 hits with 3.0 extra base hits per game and 27 total triples last season.

The Cubs finished 37-39 against NL Central Division opponents in 2019. Chicago pitchers had an ERA of 4.10 last season with a staff WHIP of 1.32.

The teams meet for the third time this season. Chicago leads the season series 2-1.

INJURIES: Reds: Robert Stephenson: (back), Anthony DeSclafani: (rotator cuff).

Cubs: Brad Wieck: (hamstring), Jose Quintana: (left thumb), Daniel Descalso: (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.