Cardinals bring 2-1 series lead over Cubs into game 4

Chicago Cubs (46-51, fifth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (50-45, second in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jameson Taillon (6-4, 2.99 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 72 strikeouts); Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (7-7, 4.88 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 75 strikeouts)

: LINE Cardinals -149, Cubs +125; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs, leading the series 2-1.

St. Louis has a 50-45 record overall and a 26-21 record at home. The Cardinals have a 15-9 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.

Chicago has gone 21-30 on the road and 46-51 overall. Cubs pitchers have a collective 3.81 ERA, which ranks 10th in MLB play.

The teams meet Sunday for the ninth time this season. The Cardinals are ahead 6-2 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Arenado has 14 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBI for the Cardinals. Alec Burleson is 13-for-41 with two doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.

Ian Happ has 22 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs while hitting .240 for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 16-for-44 with six doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 6-4, .290 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

Cubs: 7-3, .291 batting average, 2.05 ERA, outscored opponents by 24 runs

INJURIES: Cardinals: Mike Siani: day-to-day (elbow), Steven Matz: 60-Day IL (back), Keynan Middleton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Nick Robertson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Riley O'Brien: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tommy Edman: 60-Day IL (wrist), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps)

Cubs: Luke Little: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cody Bellinger: 10-Day IL (finger), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Keegan Thompson: 15-Day IL (rib), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mike Tauchman: 10-Day IL (groin), Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (oblique), Ben Brown: 15-Day IL (neck), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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