Pirates host the Guardians to start 3-game series

Cleveland Guardians (9-9, second in the AL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (8-12, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Luis Ortiz (1-2, 6.06 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 15 strikeouts); Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2, 6.23 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 14 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Guardians -134, Pirates +113; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Cleveland Guardians on Friday to begin a three-game series.

Pittsburgh is 8-12 overall and 6-4 in home games. Pirates pitchers have a collective 3.83 ERA, which ranks fifth in the NL.

Cleveland is 9-9 overall and 4-8 on the road. The Guardians have a 7-1 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with four home runs while slugging .474. Joseph Andrew Bart is 8-for-28 with a home run and four RBI over the past 10 games.

Steven Kwan has a double, three home runs and 11 RBI for the Guardians. Gabriel Arias is 8-for-35 with three home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, .197 batting average, 2.67 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs

Guardians: 6-4, .224 batting average, 3.21 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (knee), 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)

Guardians: John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shane Robert Bieber: 15-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Stephan: 15-Day IL (elbow), Slade Cecconi: 15-Day IL (oblique), Erik Sabrowski: 15-Day IL (elbow), David Fry: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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