Cubs face off against the Pirates in division matchup

Published

Pittsburgh Pirates (65-82, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (78-68, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Friday, 4 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Steven Brault (4-4, 4.13 ERA) Cubs: Jon Lester (12-10, 4.51 ERA)

BOTTOM LINE: NL Central rivals Chicago and Pittsburgh will face off on Friday.

The Cubs are 31-29 against NL Central opponents. The Chicago pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.06, Kyle Hendricks leads the staff with a mark of 3.33.

The Pirates have gone 25-39 against division opponents. The Pittsburgh offense has compiled a .266 batting average as a team this season, good for fifth in the majors. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with a mark of .327.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Castellanos leads the Cubs with 77 extra base hits and is slugging .518. Kyle Schwarber is 10-for-37 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.

Starling Marte leads the Pirates with 159 hits and has 82 RBIs. Adam Frazier is 11-for-33 with a double, two triples, a home run and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .239 batting average, 3.62 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

Pirates: 5-5, .243 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored by three runs

Cubs Injuries: Allen Webster: (hand), Brandon Morrow: (elbow), Craig Kimbrel: (elbow), Kendall Graveman: (elbow), Xavier Cedeno: (wrist), Addison Russell: (head), Javier Baez: (thumb).

Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: (elbow), Chris Stratton: (torso), Edgar Santana: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (elbow), Kyle Crick: (finger), Nick Burdi: (biceps), Chris Archer: (shoulder), Gregory Polanco: (shoulder), Jason Martin: (shoulder), Starling Marte: (wrist), Lonnie Chisenhall: (finger).