Pittsburgh Pirates (51-71, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (68-52, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Friday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 3.19 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 33 strikeouts); Cubs: Colin Rea (9-5, 4.09 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 85 strikeouts)

Cubs -202, Pirates +166; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to stop a five-game skid with a win against the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago has a 68-52 record overall and a 36-22 record at home. The Cubs have the 10th-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .321.

Pittsburgh is 51-71 overall and 17-42 in road games. The Pirates are 16-50 in games when they have given up at least one home run.

The teams meet Friday for the eighth time this season. The Cubs are ahead 5-2 in t

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