Pirates

Pirates Preview: Looking For Series Win Against Brewers’ Ace

Published

1 week ago

April 25, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated 3-2 by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night after winning the first two games of the series at PNC Park.

Josh Fleming made his first start with the Pirates and went through the lineup one time before he was relieved by Luis Ortiz, who struggled with wildness and wasn’t able to strand a pair of inherited runners.

Bryan Reynolds connected on his third home run of the season in the loss. The Pirates had two on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen struck out to end the game.

The Pirates (13-12) will rely on Mitch Keller to lead them to a series win against the Brewers (15-8) and staff ace Freddy Peralta.

First pitch is set for 12:35 ET and the game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Mostly cloudy skies with temperatures ranging from the low-to-mid 50s. Winds NE at 6 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Mitch Keller (2-2, 4.80 ERA)

Keller was tagged with four runs in six innings pitched against the Boston Red Sox earlier in the homestand.

Prior to that, the Pirates’ right-hander put together back-to-back strong starts. In 13 innings between the pair of outings, Keller allowed four runs and struck out 13 batters.

Keller will look for some consistency against the Brewers after an up-and-down start to his 2024 campaign.

He’ll also be looking for his first-career win against Milwaukee. In six previous starts against the division foes, Keller has a 6.23 ERA.

The Milwaukee Brewers Will Send Out RHP Freddy Peralta (2-0, 1.90 ERA)

Peralta enters play with an excellent start to the season as the new ace of the Brewers’ staff.

Through his first four starts, Peralta has struck out 33 batters against only four walks in 23.2 innings pitched. He’s limited opponents to a .169 batting average and a .487 OPS.

Peralta has made 20 appearances against the Pirates in his career, the most he’s had against any team. 11 of those 20 appearances have been starts. Against the Bucs, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Brewers Hitters vs. Keller

Willy Adames: 4 for 12, two doubles, one home run, four RBIs, three strikeouts
Rhys Hoskins: 3 for 5, one double, one triple, one RBI, one walk
Joey Wiemer: 3 for 5, one double, one home run, three RBIs, one strikeout
William Contreras: 1 for 5, one home run, two RBIs, one strikeout
Brice Turang: 2 for 3, one home run, three RBIs

Pirates Hitters vs. Peralta

Bryan Reynolds: 9 for 19, one double, one triple, one RBI, four walks, five strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 10, two RBIs, two strikeouts
Andrew McCutchen: 4 for 6, two doubles, one RBI, one strikeout
Oneil Cruz: 0 for 4, one strikeout
Connor Joe: 0 for 3, two strikeouts

Tidbits

So far this season, Jack Suwinski is batting .389 (7 for 18) with a double and a home run against left-handed pitching.
Conversely, he’s batting .117 (7 for 60) against right-handed pitching.
Over their last nine games, the Pirates have scored a total 0f 17 runs. That’s an average of 1.89 runs per game.