Cubs host the Cardinals to start 3-game series

St. Louis Cardinals (33-34, second in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (33-36, fourth in the NL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Kyle Gibson (4-2, 3.76 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 67 strikeouts); Cubs: Jordan Wicks (1-2, 4.44 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)

: LINE Cubs -113, Cardinals -107; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals to start a three-game series.

Chicago is 33-36 overall and 18-13 at home. The Cubs have a 21-6 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

St. Louis is 16-19 on the road and 33-34 overall. The Cardinals are 20-6 in games when they scored five or more runs.

Friday's game is the third meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Cody Bellinger has a .267 batting average to lead the Cubs, and has 12 doubles, a triple and nine home runs. Seiya Suzuki is 11-for-38 with three home runs and seven RBI over the past 10 games.

Nolan Gorman leads St. Louis with 15 home runs while slugging .463. Alec Burleson is 11-for-40 with three home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 4-6, .231 batting average, 4.12 ERA, outscored by eight runs

Cardinals: 5-5, .254 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Ben Brown: 15-Day IL (neck), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm), Yency Almonte: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daniel Palencia: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Cardinals: Nolan Arenado: day-to-day (hand), Lars Nootbaar: 10-Day IL (oblique), Nick Robertson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Riley O'Brien: 60-Day IL (forearm), Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (arm), Giovanny Gallegos: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Tommy Edman: 60-Day IL (wrist), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (back), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps), Keynan Middleton: 15-Day IL (forearm)

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