Astros bring road slide into matchup against the Cubs
Houston Astros (7-17, fifth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (14-9, second in the NL Central)
Chicago; Wednesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Spencer Arrighetti (0-2, 11.57 ERA, 2.29 WHIP, eight strikeouts); Cubs: Jameson Taillon (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, four strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Cubs -113, Astros -107; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros visit the Chicago Cubs looking to stop a three-game road losing streak.
Chicago is 8-3 in home games and 14-9 overall. The Cubs have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .243.
Houston is 7-17 overall and 3-8 in road games. The Astros have a 4-2 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Wednesday's game is the second time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Busch leads the Cubs with six home runs while slugging .583. Nico Hoerner is 15-for-42 with five doubles, a triple and seven RBI over the past 10 games.
Jose Altuve leads the Astros with 13 extra base hits (eight doubles and five home runs). Kyle Tucker is 12-for-33 with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 7-3, .246 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Astros: 3-7, .260 batting average, 5.26 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
INJURIES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (back), Drew Smyly: 15-Day IL (hip), Ian Happ: day-to-day (hamstring), Julian Merryweather: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Seiya Suzuki: 10-Day IL (oblique strain), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Astros: Cristian Javier: 15-Day IL (neck), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Framber Valdez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (forearm), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
