Brewers ride 6-game win streak into matchup with Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers (23-16, second in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (22-13, first in the NL Central)
Chicago; Friday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Brewers: Gio Gonzalez (0-0, 2.61 ERA, .97 WHIP, 9 strikeouts) Cubs: Jose Quintana (0-1, 3.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 40 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Milwaukee enters the game as winners of their last six games.
The Cubs are 6-3 against NL Central teams. Chicago has slugged .459, good for second in the National League. Willson Contreras leads the team with a .640 slugging percentage, including 15 extra-base hits and nine home runs.
The Brewers have gone 10-6 against division opponents. Milwaukee has slugged .438, good for fourth in the National League. Christian Yelich leads the club with a .797 slugging percentage, including 20 extra-base hits and 16 home runs. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 47 hits and is batting .320. Kris Bryant is 10-for-34 with two doubles, a triple, five home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Yelich leads the Brewers with 16 home runs and has 37 RBIs. Ryan Braun has 13 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 9-1, .252 batting average, 2.39 ERA, outscored opponents by 32 runs
Brewers: 8-2, .244 batting average, 3.09 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Cubs Injuries: Pedro Strop: 10-day IL (hamstring), Brandon Morrow: 60-day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow), Xavier Cedeno: 10-day IL (wrist), Tony Barnette: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Descalso: day-to-day (ankle), Victor Caratini: 10-day IL (hand).
Brewers Injuries: Aaron Wilkerson: 10-day IL (foot), Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Jimmy Nelson: 10-day IL (shoulder), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Chase Anderson: 10-day IL (finger).