Chicago Cubs (31-26, second in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (29-25, third in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Friday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Shota Imanaga (4-5, 4.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 67 strikeouts); Cardinals: Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.44 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 42 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -140, Cardinals +117; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs to open a three-game series.
St. Louis has gone 13-13 at home and 29-25 overall. The Cardinals have a 21-9 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
Chicago has gone 13-15 in road games and 31-26 overall. The Cubs have a 14-6 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jordan Walker has 11 doubles and 15 home runs for the Cardinals. Ivan Herrera is 10 for 38 with a double, a triple, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.
Ian Happ has eight doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 28 RBIs for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 7 for 33 with two doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 3-7, .221 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
Cubs: 2-8, .198 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Nathan Church: 10-Day IL (lower body), Ramon Urias: 10-Day IL (elbow), Lars Nootbaar: 60-Day IL (heels)
Cubs: Edward Cabrera: 15-Day IL (finger), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Matt Shaw: 10-Day IL (back), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (tricep), Matthew Boyd: 15-Day IL (knee), Riley Martin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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