Cubs begin 3-game series with the Astros

Chicago Cubs (48-33, first in the NL Central) vs. Houston Astros (48-33, first in the AL West)

Houston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. CDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 31 strikeouts); Astros: Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 25 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros begin a three-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Houston has a 30-13 record in home games and a 48-33 record overall. Astros pitchers have a collective 3.41 ERA, which ranks second in the AL.

Chicago is 48-33 overall and 23-18 on the road. Cubs hitters have a collective .325 on-base percentage, the fifth-best percentage in MLB play.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes leads the Astros with 16 home runs while slugging .463. Mauricio Dubon is 10 for 34 with four home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.

Kyle Tucker has 16 home runs, 53 walks and 49 RBIs while hitting .287 for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 12 for 37 with a double, two home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .270 batting average, 3.23 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Cubs: 5-5, .257 batting average, 5.66 ERA, outscored by four runs

INJURIES: Astros: Jacob Melton: 10-Day IL (ankle), Shawn Dubin: 15-Day IL (forearm), Pedro Leon: 60-Day IL (knee), Brendan Rodgers: 10-Day IL (oblique), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (foot), Spencer Arrighetti: 60-Day IL (thumb), Chas McCormick: 10-Day IL (oblique), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (hand), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Cubs: Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (oblique), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Javier Assad: 60-Day IL (oblique), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.