Cubs begin 3-game series against the Athletics

Oakland Athletics (65-85, fourth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (76-73, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Monday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Joey Estes (7-7, 4.36 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 88 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (13-3, 3.03 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 159 strikeouts)

: LINE Cubs -192, Athletics +160; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Oakland Athletics on Monday to begin a three-game series.

Chicago has a 38-33 record at home and a 76-73 record overall. The Cubs have the ninth-best team ERA in MLB play at 3.82.

Oakland has gone 29-46 on the road and 65-85 overall. Athletics hitters are batting a collective .234, which ranks 10th in the AL.

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

TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has 32 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 43 RBI while hitting .262 for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 12-for-37 with two doubles and four home runs over the last 10 games.

JJ Bleday has 43 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 56 RBI while hitting .248 for the Athletics. Brent Rooker is 15-for-44 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .266 batting average, 3.88 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Athletics: 4-6, .249 batting average, 3.73 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Brennen Davis: 60-Day IL (ankle), Justin Steele: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jorge Lopez: 15-Day IL (groin), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (finger), Julian Merryweather: 15-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (forearm), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Athletics: Ross Stripling: 15-Day IL (back), Osvaldo Bido: 15-Day IL (wrist), Esteury Ruiz: 60-Day IL (wrist), Miguel Andujar: 60-Day IL (muscle), Austin Adams: 15-Day IL (forearm), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alex Wood: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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