Mariners open 3-game series against the Cubs

Chicago Cubs (74-54, second in the NL Central) vs. Seattle Mariners (60-68, third in the AL West)

Seattle; Friday, 10:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Matthew Boyd (8-2, 4.02 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 68 strikeouts); Mariners: Emerson Hancock (7-7, 3.30 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 119 strikeouts)

LINE: Mariners -110, Cubs -109; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Seattle Mariners host the Chicago Cubs to start a three-game series.

Seattle has a 60-68 record overall and a 33-29 record at home. Mariners pitchers have a collective 4.01 ERA, which ranks seventh in the AL.

Chicago has a 74-54 record overall and a 36-27 record in road games. Cubs hitters have a collective .418 slugging percentage to rank third in MLB.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Randy Arozarena has 17 home runs, 48 walks and 53 RBIs while hitting .272 for the Mariners. Josh Naylor is 15 for 40 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.

Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the Cubs with 31 home runs while slugging .550. Alex Bregman is 14 for 39 with a double, four home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mariners: 4-6, .231 batting average, 6.68 ERA, outscored by 30 runs

Cubs: 6-4, .249 batting average, 5.00 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

INJURIES: Mariners: Carlos Vargas: 60-Day IL (lat), J.P. Crawford: 10-Day IL (wrist), Will Wilson: 60-Day IL (thumb), Luke Raley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Colt Emerson: 10-Day IL (wrist), Cooper Criswell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Matt Brash: 15-Day IL (lat), Cole Wilcox: 15-Day IL (oblique), Logan Evans: 60-Day IL (arm)

Cubs: Hoby Milner: 15-Day IL (appendicitis), Gavin Hollowell: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Matt Shaw: 10-Day IL (hand), Daniel Palencia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (tricep), Edward Cabrera: 15-Day IL (blister), Phil Maton: 60-Day IL (knee), Kevin Gausman: day-to-day (hand), Dansby Swanson: 10-Day IL (side), Riley Martin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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