Chicago Cubs (80-76, second in the NL Central) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (92-64, first in the NL East)
Philadelphia; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Justin Steele (5-5, 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 132 strikeouts); Phillies: Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.54 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 183 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Phillies -178, Cubs +149; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies host the Chicago Cubs to begin a three-game series.
Philadelphia has a 92-64 record overall and a 52-26 record in home games. The Phillies are 42-8 in games when they hit at least two home runs.
Chicago is 80-76 overall and 38-40 in road games. The Cubs have gone 60-11 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Monday's game is the fourth time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Schwarber has 21 doubles, 36 home runs and 99 RBI while hitting .249 for the Phillies. Trea Turner is 12-for-41 with a double and a home run over the past 10 games.
Ian Happ leads Chicago with 25 home runs while slugging .453. Michael Busch is 9-for-31 with four home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Phillies: 4-6, .231 batting average, 4.76 ERA, outscored by four runs
Cubs: 5-5, .285 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
INJURIES: Phillies: Rodolfo Castro: 60-Day IL (thumb), Austin Hays: 10-Day IL (kidney infection), Spencer Turnbull: 60-Day IL (back), Luis Ortiz: 60-Day IL (ankle)
Cubs: Jordan Wicks: 15-Day IL (oblique), Brennen Davis: 60-Day IL (ankle), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (finger), Julian Merryweather: 15-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
