Cubs play the Twins in first of 3-game series

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Minnesota Twins (48-49, third in the AL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (54-42, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Friday, 8:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Bailey Ober (6-3, 4.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 51 strikeouts); Cubs: Colin Rea (7-5, 4.75 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 70 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -138, Twins +114; over/under is 10 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs open a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

Chicago has a 54-42 record overall and a 27-19 record at home. The Cubs rank fifth in the NL with 121 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.

Minnesota has gone 22-24 in road games and 48-49 overall. The Twins have the ninth-best team batting average in MLB play at .248.

Friday's game is the first meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Crow-Armstrong has 15 doubles, four triples and 21 home runs for the Cubs. Seiya Suzuki is 11 for 41 with three doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.

Brooks Lee has 15 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs while hitting .249 for the Twins. Josh Bell is 11 for 39 with four doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 6-4, .251 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

Twins: 7-3, .258 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Hoby Milner: 15-Day IL (appendicitis), Riley Martin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt Shaw: 10-Day IL (hand), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (tricep), Edward Cabrera: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Ben Brown: 15-Day IL (neck), Porter Hodge: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ethan Roberts: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Christopher Austin: 60-Day IL (knee), Cade Horton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Daniel Palencia: 15-Day IL (elbow), Shelby Miller: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Twins: Mick Abel: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-Day IL (lat), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Connor Prielipp: 15-Day IL (finger), Marco Raya: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (hip), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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