Reds play the Padres in first of 3-game series

San Diego Padres (44-36, second in the NL West) vs. Cincinnati Reds (42-39, fourth in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Dylan Cease (3-6, 4.43 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 109 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Martinez (4-8, 4.40 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 63 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Padres -139, Reds +117; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the San Diego Padres on Friday to begin a three-game series.

Cincinnati has gone 22-18 in home games and 42-39 overall. The Reds have a 28-9 record in games when they scored five or more runs.

San Diego has a 19-22 record in road games and a 44-36 record overall. The Padres have the third-ranked team ERA in the NL at 3.63.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz leads the Reds with 18 home runs while slugging .511. Spencer Steer is 13 for 37 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs over the past 10 games.

Manny Machado has 20 doubles and 13 home runs for the Padres. Luis Arraez is 16 for 43 with a triple over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .242 batting average, 3.93 ERA, outscored by three runs

Padres: 5-5, .246 batting average, 4.34 ERA, outscored by two runs

INJURIES: Reds: Connor Joe: 10-Day IL (illness), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (flexor), Graham Ashcraft: 15-Day IL (groin), Rhett Lowder: 60-Day IL (forearm), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (groin), Austin Hays: 10-Day IL (foot), Carson Spiers: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler Callihan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Noelvi Marte: 10-Day IL (side), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Julian Aguiar: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Padres: Xander Bogaerts: day-to-day (shoulder), Ryan Bergert: 15-Day IL (forearm), Yu Darvish: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael King: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Logan Gillaspie: 15-Day IL (oblique ), Jhony Brito: 60-Day IL (forearm), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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