7-9-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
The Brewers have been handily in control of the NL Central for the better part of the last few months but they split a series in Colorado and lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers this past weekend.
The Pirates, on the other hand, bring a hobbled rotation and an uneven offense into a critical three game series in the House of Pain where the Bucs have lost 17 times over 25 games since 2021. If they are going to change their fate this time around, they’ll need to find a way to get the bookend offense from the Mets series to show up consistently in Milwaukee.
7-9
Pirates – Josh Fleming (L) 1-1, 28.1 IP, 4.13 ERA, 17 Ks/10 walks, 1.45 WHIP
Brewers – Colin Rea (R) 8-2, 94.1 IP, 3.34 ERA, 66 Ks/28 walks, 1.20 WHIP
7-10
Pirates – Martín Pérez (L) 1-4, 68.2 IP, 4.72 ERA, 52 Ks/22 walks, 1.54 WHIP
Brewers – Tobias Myers (R) 5-3, 64 IP, 3.52 ERA, 56 Ks/19 walks, 1.19 WHIP
7-11
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) 5-0, 59.1 IP, 2.12 ERA, 54 Ks/22 walks, 1.01 WHIP
Brewers – Aaron Civale (R) 2-6, 92 IP, 5.18 ERA, 92 Ks/30 walks, 1.39 WHIP
Pirates:
Rowdy Tellez: When you’re wrong, you’re wrong and I am happy to admit that I was wrong about Rowdy. The contact and exit velocity rates were solid all season but Tellez has finally put it together. Since June 1, Rowdy has batted .349 with a 1.020 OPS and 184 wRC+ – all of which are among the best in MLB in that stretch. Whether this is the real deal or his luck eventually runs out, I am going all-in to enjoy the Rowdy Ride.
Brewers:
Christian Yelich: Recently named to his third All Star Game – and first since 2019 – the former MVP has experienced a resurgence this year in leading the Brewers offense, posting a .329/.407/.533 slash line very reminiscent of his late-2010 stats. He’s been especially hot this month as he has a .393/.469/.893 line in July with 3 doubles, a triple and 3 home runs.
Pirates:
Andrew McCutchen: Typically, Anthrocon propels Cutch to one of his biggest offensive surges but the 37-year old veteran went 1-for-11 over the weekend before posting an 0/3 game in the finale against the Mets. He enters today’s series against his former club batting .136 in July and is currently struggling to get much going at the plate.
Brewers:
Rhys Hoskins: Last time we faced the Brewers, faced were lamenting how we didn’t sign Hoskins this past off-season. While the upside is undeniable, the fact that he’s played 27 of his 69 games this season at DH limits his contributions to the club and his offensive contributions have not been great as of late. Over his past 7 games, Hoskins has just two hits (both for home runs) in 28 plate appearances for a .091 batting average in that stretch while striking out 32.1% of the time.
Key Injuries
Pirates:
Jared Jones (right lat strain) and Bailey Falter (left tricep tendonitis) both went down with injuries over the past week which may complicate pitching matchups during this series.
Brewers:
Joey Ortiz, part of the trade return from Baltimore for Corbin Burnes, was off to a scorching start with his new club, posting a 130 OPS+ and .817 OPS on the season thus far. He will miss this series as he landed on the injured list last week with reported neck inflammation.
Things to Look For
The Pirates are currently 4 games back of the final wild card spot and 9.5 back in the division. While they didn’t lose a ton of ground over the previous few series, it would be advantageous if they can break out of their mediocrity and roll off a few wins in a row this week.
Steel City Pirates 
Cool, so they’ll keep the pattern by losing two and salvaging one, by my expectation. Part of me really wants to see that continue, a twisted part of me I’m not proud of, but one that also recognizes that’s not so bad when the tower is clearly not high enough and the roof shouldn’t be installed yet.
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