Houston Astros (20-31, fourth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (29-21, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Spencer Arrighetti (5-1, 1.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 35 strikeouts); Cubs: Jameson Taillon (2-3, 4.97 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 42 strikeouts)
LINE: Cubs -145, Astros +121; over/under is 7 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs aim to end their five-game skid when they take on the Houston Astros.
Chicago is 18-8 at home and 29-21 overall. The Cubs have gone 13-6 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Houston has an 8-17 record in road games and a 20-31 record overall. The Astros have an 8-28 record in games when they have allowed a home run.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has 13 doubles and four home runs for the Cubs. Michael Conforto is 9 for 27 with four doubles, two home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 26 extra base hits (11 doubles and 15 home runs). Isaac Paredes is 8 for 39 with two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 2-8, .185 batting average, 5.12 ERA, outscored by 22 runs
Astros: 4-6, .197 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored by 22 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Edward Cabrera: day-to-day (finger), 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), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm)
Astros: Yainer Diaz: 10-Day IL (abdominal), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Jose Altuve: 10-Day IL (side), Hunter Brown: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Bennett Sousa: 15-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (ankle), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
