The Milwaukee Brewers will host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. Here is what you should know.
After dropping two of three games against the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers will return home to begin a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. Below is what you should know ahead of the matchup
A Heavyweight Pitching Battle
Kicking off the series on the mound will be the battle of two aces: Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff versus Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes.
Woodruff, in his ninth active season of Major League Baseball, has started four games so far and owns a 2-0 record with a 3.42 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Through 23 2/3 innings of work, Woodruff has notched 20 strikeouts while allowing 18 hits, nine earned runs and four walks.
Meanwhile, Skenes’ third year in Major League Baseball is also off to a strong start. The 23-year-old 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner has a 3-1 record through his first five starts while carrying a 3.27 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP.
Over 22 innings of work, Skenes has logged 23 strikeouts while allowing 13 hits, eight earned runs, and seven walks.
An NL Central Battle
In the highly competitive National League Central Division, the Pirates and the Brewers find themselves in the middle and the end of the pack, respectfully.
The Brewers, now losers of two games in a row, are 13-11 and last in the NL Central. Meanwhile, the Pirates occupy third place with a 14-10 record heading into their Thursday night series finale against the Texas Rangers.
Over their last 11 games, the Pirates have been stuck in a win one, lose one pattern. Conversely, the Brewers have won five of their last eight games.
Other Stars to Watch
Beyond the heavyweight battle between Woodruff and Skenes in Game 1 of the series, there are other players that spectators should keep an eye on throughout the duration of the three-game set, two of which are Brewers’ second baseman Brice Turang and Pirates first baseman Ryan O’Hearn.
Currently, Turang and O’Hearn are nearly in lockstep with one another in terms of the National League OPS leaders, with O’Hearn in 11th place with a .932 OPS, and Turang in 12th with a .924 OPS.
O’Hearn is also tied for the third-best batting average in MLB with Colorado Rockies right-fielder Troy Johnston, as both are hitting .325. Turang and O’Hearn are also occupying top-10 spots in MLB for on-base percentage, with Turang’s .412 OBP putting him in 10th place while O’Hearn’s .413 OBP puts him in eighth place.
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