Cubs look to build on Hendricks' 1-run outing

Pittsburgh Pirates (78-76, fourth in NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (91-64, first in NL Central)

Chicago; Monday, 8:05 p.m. Eastern

PROBABLE PITCHERS: Pirates: Jameson Taillon (13-9, 3.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 167 strikeouts) Cubs: Cole Hamels (9-10, 3.90 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 173 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Kyle Hendricks delivered Sunday against the White Sox, surrendering just one run in 7 and 2/3 innings. The Cubs will look to carry that momentum into Monday’s matchup. The Cubs enter the contest with a two and a half-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central. Chicago has a collective on-base percentage of .334, led by Ben Zobrist's mark of .387. The Pirates have gone 19-11 in games started by Taillon. The Pittsburgh offense has compiled a .254 batting average as a team this season, Corey Dickerson leads the team with a mark of .298. In their last meeting on Aug. 19, Richard Rodriguez earned the win in a 2-1 victory for the Pirates.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell has 11 home runs and 60 RBIs this year for the Pirates. Adam Frazier has a .300 batting average, nine hits and two home runs over his past 10 games for Pittsburgh. Javier Baez is batting .293 with a .319 on-base percentage and .568 slugging percentage in 152 games this season for the Cubs. Daniel Murphy has 10 hits and is batting .263 over his past 10 games for Chicago.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 7-3, .255 batting average, 3.96 ERA, outscored by five runs. Cubs: 7-3, .236 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs.

CUBS INJURIES: The Cubs transferred RHP Brandon Morrow to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday.

PIRATES INJURIES: The Pittsburgh Pirates placed OF Gregory Polanco on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Sep 15, with a dislocated left shoulder and bone bruise on his left knee on Friday, Sept. 7.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.