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Paul Skenes is set to make his 17th start of the year as his Pirates battle the Brewers in the rubber match of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon. The reigning National League ROTY has posted the best ERA amongst all qualified major league starters at 1.85.
Although Skenes has been on a personal tear, the Brewers have placed faith in pitching phenom Jacob Misiorowski in what could be a showdown between the league's future star hurlers.
In his most recent start, Misiorowski set a modern-day baseball record when he went hitless for the first 11 innings of his career. The 23-year-old currently holds a 1.64 ERA and a spotless 2-0 record so far.
Pirates vs. Brewers recent form and records
Pittsburgh is still in rough shape and in the catacombs of the NL Central standings with a 32-49 record. The squad has particularly compiled a repugnant 12-28 record on the road and has, at multiple opportunities, failed to give run support to close out Skenes' brilliant performances on the mound.
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With the recent form of the Cubs, the Brewers are slowly eating away at the former's lead in the division. With their 44-36 record, Milwaukee sits just 2.5 games behind the Northsiders.
Pirates vs. Brewers odds
Money Line: PIT (-110), MIL (-110)
Run Spread: PIT -1.5 (+161), MIL +1.5 (-193)
Total Runs: O 6.5 (-130), U 6.5 (+109)
Pirates vs. Brewers injuries
PIT injury report
- Johan Oviedo (SP): 60-day IL (lat)
- Bryan Reynolds (OF): paternity
- Tim Mayza (RP): 60-day IL (shoulder)
- Justin Lawrence (RP): 60-day IL (elbow)
- Jared Jones (SP): 60-day IL (elbow)
- Emmanuel Valdez (1B): 60-day IL (shoulder)
- Colin Holderman (RP): 15-day IL (thumb)
- Endy Rodriguez (1B): 10-day IL (shoulder)
- Ryan Borucki (RP): 15-day IL (back)
MIL injury report
- Brandon Woodruff (SP): 15-day IL (elbow)
- Robert Gasser (SP): 60-day IL (elbow)
- Connor Thomas (RP): 60-day IL (elbow)
- Blake Perkins (CF): 60-day IL (shin)
- Nestor Cortes Jr. (SP): 60-day IL (elbow)
- Garrett Mitchell (CF): 10-day IL (oblique)
Pirates vs. Brewers projected lineup
PIT projected lineup
- Oneil Cruz (CF)
- Andrew McCutchen (DH)
- Bryan Reynolds (RF)
- Nick Gonzales (2B)
- Joey Bart (C)
- Spencer Horwitz (1B)
- Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B)
- Adam Frazier (LF)
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS)
- Paul Skenes (SP, 4-6 | 1.85 ERA | 106 K)
MIL projected lineup
- Sal Frelick (RF)
- Jackson Chourio (CF)
- Christian Yelich (DH)
- William Contreras (C)\
- Isaac Collins (LF)
- Rhys Hoskins (1B)
- Brice Turang (2B)
- Caleb Durbin (3B)
- Joey Ortiz (SS)
- Jacob Misiorowski (SP, 2-0 | 1.64 ERA | 11 K)
Pirates vs. Brewers picks and game prediction
With the hottest pitching prodigies on the mound set to battle, the game could go either way, as evidenced by the even odds. Nevertheless, the Brewers' batting order is in better form and should be sufficient to get them over the line.
Run Line: MIL +1.5 (-193)
Total Runs: U 6.5 (+109)
Prediction: MIL wins, 3-1
