Chicago Cubs (7-9, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Miami Marlins (4-14, fifth in the NL East)
Miami; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Cole Hamels (2-0, 3.79 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15 strikeouts) Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 4.24 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 12 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Miami enters the matchup as losers of their last three games.
The Marlins are 3-9 in home games. The Miami pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.89, Trevor Richards leads the staff with a mark of 3.57.
The Cubs are 4-7 on the road. Chicago has a team on-base percentage of .358, good for third in the National League. Willson Contreras leads the team with a mark of .455. The Cubs won the last meeting 4-0. Jose Quintana notched his second victory and Javier Baez went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Chicago. Pablo Lopez took his third loss for Miami.
TOP PERFORMERS: Starlin Castro leads the Marlins with 16 hits and has four RBIs. Austin Dean is 5-for-20 with a double, a triple, a home run and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Miami.
Baez leads the Cubs with 22 hits and has 14 RBIs. Contreras is 8-for-30 with five home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Marlins: 2-8, .205 batting average, 5.24 ERA, outscored by 31 runs
Cubs: 6-4, .248 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
Marlins Injuries: Riley Ferrell: 10-day IL (bicep), Julian Fernandez: 60-day IL (elbow), Austin Brice: 10-day IL (gastroenteritis), Garrett Cooper: 10-day IL (calf).
Cubs Injuries: Brandon Morrow: 10-day IL (elbow), Mike Montgomery: 10-day IL (shoulder), Jon Lester: 10-day IL (hamstring), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow), Xavier Cedeno: 10-day IL (wrist), Tony Barnette: 10-day IL (shoulder), Victor Caratini: 10-day IL (hand).
