Cubs host Pittsburgh Pirates, look to end home skid

Pittsburgh Pirates (7-7, third in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (6-8, third in the NL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Zach Thompson (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, eight strikeouts); Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 6.08 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 17 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -174, Pirates +149; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs aim to end their four-game home losing streak with a victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chicago has gone 3-5 at home and 6-8 overall. The Cubs have the fourth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .337.

Pittsburgh has gone 4-2 at home and 7-7 overall. The Pirates have a 5-0 record in games when they scored five or more runs.

The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season. The Pirates are ahead 3-1 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Seiya Suzuki leads Chicago with four home runs while slugging .692. Patrick Wisdom is 9-for-27 with two home runs and seven RBI over the past 10 games.

Daniel Vogelbach leads Pittsburgh with three home runs while slugging .548. Michael Chavis is 9-for-22 with a home run and three RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 3-7, .255 batting average, 5.36 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Pirates: 6-4, .239 batting average, 3.93 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

INJURIES: Cubs: Clint Frazier: 10-Day IL (appendicitis), Alec Mills: 10-Day IL (back), Andrelton Simmons: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Wade Miley: 10-Day IL (elbow), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow), David Bote: 60-Day IL (undisclosed)

Pirates: Duane Underwood Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Greg Allen: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Blake Cederlind: 60-Day IL (elbow), Max Kranick: 10-Day IL (forearm), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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