Guardians aim to break 5-game skid, take on the Cubs

Cleveland Guardians (40-43, second in the AL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (50-35, first in the NL Central)

Chicago; Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Tanner Bibee (4-8, 3.80 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 82 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (4-2, 2.54 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 37 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -158, Guardians +133; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians head into the matchup against the Chicago Cubs after losing five games in a row.

Chicago has a 50-35 record overall and a 26-15 record in home games. Cubs hitters have a collective .326 on-base percentage, the sixth-best percentage in the majors.

Cleveland is 40-43 overall and 20-23 on the road. The Guardians are 24-6 in games when they scored at least five runs.

The matchup Wednesday is the second time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Tucker has 18 doubles, four triples and 17 home runs for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 14 for 34 with three home runs over the last 10 games.

Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with 13 home runs while slugging .493. Steven Kwan is 11 for 41 with four doubles, a triple and two RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .277 batting average, 5.02 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs

Guardians: 3-7, .188 batting average, 4.96 ERA, outscored by 26 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (oblique), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Javier Assad: 60-Day IL (oblique), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Guardians: Gabriel Arias: 10-Day IL (ankle), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), Paul Sewald: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Stephan: 60-Day IL (elbow), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

___

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