Pirates look to stop slide in matchup with the Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates (51-71, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (68-52, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 3.19 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 33 strikeouts); Cubs: Colin Rea (9-5, 4.09 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 85 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -202, Pirates +166; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to stop a five-game skid with a win against the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago has a 68-52 record overall and a 36-22 record at home. The Cubs have the 10th-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .321.

Pittsburgh is 51-71 overall and 17-42 in road games. The Pirates are 16-50 in games when they have given up at least one home run.

The teams meet Friday for the eighth time this season. The Cubs are ahead 5-2 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has a .293 batting average to lead the Cubs, and has 19 doubles, three triples and four home runs. Dansby Swanson is 11 for 37 with two home runs and four RBIs over the past 10 games.

Bryan Reynolds has 26 doubles, three triples and 13 home runs for the Pirates. Nick Gonzales is 15 for 42 with two doubles and three RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .221 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs

Pirates: 3-7, .229 batting average, 6.52 ERA, outscored by 34 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (ankle), Mike Soroka: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (calf), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Pirates: Oneil Cruz: 7-Day IL (concussion), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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