Pirates vs Brewers Preview: Can Milwaukee Turn Things Around?

The Milwaukee Brewers are starting to drop in the MLB Power Rankings. They’ve lost seven of their last ten games and are coming off a three-game series loss to the Washington Nationals.

On Thursday, they’ll begin a four-game series against another terrible team. They’ll take on the 48-win Pittsburgh Pirates throughout the weekend. It’s an NL Central matchup that could help the Brewers get back on track. But it’s all easier said than done.

The Pirates are coming into this series red-hot, winning six of their last ten games. The Pirates aren’t competing for anything this year. But they can at least keep the Brewers out of the playoffs.

Take a look at our Pirates vs Brewers preview for the four-game divisional series.

The Brewers Should Be Embarrassed

The Milwaukee Brewers are committed to this season and the team. They even added some pieces to help contend in the NL Central and NL Wild Card. However, the Brewers recently lost to a last-place Washington Nationals on a walk-off error. Milwaukee’s all-star closer allowed the bases to load up after an error, single, and walk.

Milwaukee was up 2-1 and got a ground ball to third base off Alex Call’s bat. The Brewers had a play at the plate and ultimately could’ve got Call out at first to keep the lead. Instead, Andruw Monasterio, the third baseman, threw a wide throw to home plate. Two runners scored, and the Brewers lost.

Milwaukee looked like a last-place team in the bottom of the ninth inning. They’ve played in some terrible baseball games over the last few weeks.

Another Wasted Year In Pittsburgh

The Pirates haven’t been competitive in decades. The last time the Pirates won a World Series was in 1979. Despite consistently earning top picks in the MLB draft, the Pirates always fail when building a franchise.

Pittsburgh is sitting at 48-59 on the season and in fourth place in the NL Central. They’re ten games out of the division and nine out of the NL Wild Card. It’s a wrap.

On top of that, one of their more consistent performers. Tucupita Marcano tore his ACL and will require surgery.

Pittsburgh at least took advantage of their struggles and traded Rich Hill and Ji-Man Choi away for prospects, including Jackson Wolf, Alfonso Rivas, and Estuar Suero from the Padres. They added Bailey Falter from the Phillies for Rodolfo Castro and eliminated Austin Hedges for International bonus pool space.

The Pirates traded Carlos Santana to Milwaukee for prospect Johnny Severino earlier in the week. Santana will already get to face his old team in this four-game series.

Now it’s time to look at the probable pitchers in our Pirates vs Brewers preview.

Game 1

Mitch Keller vs Adrian Houser
Thursday, 7:15 p.m. ET

Mitch Keller was a hot topic at the MLB Trade Deadline. However, the Pirates decided to hold onto Keller. He’ll get the start for Pittsburgh in the first game of this series.

Keller had a dominant first half of the season. However, over the last month, he’s allowed his last 84 lefties to hit a .382 ISO and wOBA of .459.

Meanwhile, the Brewers have been solid against right-handed pitching. Christian Yelich has hit a .306 ISO and wOBA of .461 against his last 78 righties, and Carlos Santana has a .286 ISO and wOBA of .376 against his previous 66 batters. Even Abraham Toro has looked good since being added to the lineup against righties.

The Brewers will pitch Adrian Houser. He’s been excellent at limiting extra-base hits, despite earning 22.3% of strikeouts. He’ll walk many lefties but will face a much easier lineup than Keller.

The Pirates have only got consistent hitting from Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, and Connor Joe against righties over the last month. The offense is terrible, especially against righties. They’ll have to face four righties against the Brewers in this series.

The Brewers are currently the favorite, at -126, to win this game at home. On the other hand, the Pirates are +115 on the road. Although the Pirates probably have the better pitcher, the Brewers’ offense has more weapons. The total is 8.5, with the Over juiced to -115/105.

According to the first game of the Pirates vs Brewers preview, I’d expect a low-scoring game.

Game 2

Quinn Priester vs. Colin Rea
Friday, 8:10 p.m. ET

Quinn Priester will take the mound for Pittsburgh in the second game. Priester is a rookie pitcher that has been highly touted throughout his career. However, he’s allowed a .311 ISO and wOBA of .412 while walking 15.1% of batters. His strikeouts are low, and everything else is high.

Colin Rea will battle Priester in the second game. Rea is a right-handed pitcher, holding righties to a .146 ISO and wOBA of .304. However, he’s allowed lefties to hit a .381 ISO and wOBA of .412 against him over the last month. Pittsburgh’s lefties still have potential in this matchup. We should see more runs in this game.

Game 3

TBD vs. Corbin Burnes
Saturday, 7:10 p.m. ET

With the departure of Rich Hill, it’s unknown who will take the mound in Game 3 for the Pirates. It’s hard to predict any baseball scores when we don’t know the pitcher. But with Corbin Burnes on the mound, the Under seems like the play.

Burnes has struck out nearly 33% of batters over the last month, allowing a .065 ISO and wOBA of .205. He’s earning a high rate of ground balls and will face a weak Pirates offense. Don’t count on the Pirates to score much on Saturday.

Game 4

Johan Oviedo vs. Freddy Peralta
Sunday, 2:10 p.m. ET

In the finale, Johan Oviedo will get the start. He’s held his last 121 batters to a wOBA of .295 and has induced nearly 47% of ground balls while earning 24.8% of strikeouts in the previous 30 days.

Meanwhile, it’ll be Freddy Peralta on the mound for the Brewers. Peralta has struck out close to 36% of batters and has also held his last 115 batters to a .147 ISO and wOBA of .286. He’s been just as good as Oviedo, if not better.

Although the most recent Brewers-Pirates series saw nine runs per game, this NL Central matchup typically has totals going under. The Brewers are known for pitching, and the Pirates are known for being bad.

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