Pirates and Cubs play to determine series winner

Chicago Cubs (18-13, first in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-19, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 12:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Colin Rea (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Pirates: Paul Skenes (3-2, 2.39 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pirates -150, Cubs +126; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs meet on Thursday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

Pittsburgh has a 12-19 record overall and a 7-8 record at home. The Pirates have a 6-2 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

Chicago has an 18-13 record overall and a 9-6 record on the road. Cubs hitters have a collective .341 on-base percentage, the second-best percentage in the majors.

The teams play Thursday for the third time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz has four doubles and eight home runs for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 13-for-40 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBI over the past 10 games.

Kyle Tucker has eight doubles, two triples and seven home runs for the Cubs. Ian Happ is 14-for-42 with four doubles, a home run and seven RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .273 batting average, 4.09 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

Cubs: 6-4, .280 batting average, 3.87 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Justin Lawrence: 15-Day IL (elbow), Timothy Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Gonzales: 10-Day IL (ankle), Spencer Horwitz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Cubs: Javier Assad: 60-Day IL (oblique), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Eli Morgan: 15-Day IL (elbow), Tyson Miller: 15-Day IL (hip), Ryan Brasier: 15-Day IL (hip)

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