From April 20 to April 22, the Milwaukee Brewers beat up on the Pittsburgh Pirates at a historic level. The three-game series between the NL Central rivals culminated with a 20-0 blowout that was the worst loss in Pittsburgh’s 124-year history. The two teams meet up again tomorrow at 8:10 PM ET in Milwaukee to begin another three-game series.
The baseball lines list the Brewers at -220 and the Pirates at +190 with an over/under of 8.5.
The Milwaukee Brewers (8-10, 3-6 home) have cooled off a great deal since the last time they faced the Pirates. In that series, they got strong production from two-time All Star left fielder Ryan Braun. He has played well all season (.366 BA, 5 HR, 1.066 OPS) but played particularly well in the Pittsburgh series, going 7-11 with 2 home runs. He struggled in Milwaukee’s most recent series against the Chicago Cubs, however, batting just 1 for 11. The Brewers saw their offensive production decrease significantly over the course of losing all three games to the Cubs.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-11, 2-7 away) is also entering the game on a losing streak. After starting the season a surprising 7-5, they have lost their last six and have been outscored 55-9 over the course of the losing streak. In the NL, they are last in team batting average and have scored the second-fewest runs for the season. Right fielder Garrett Jones leads the team with 4 home runs and 12 RBI, but has a low .226 batting average.
Yovani Gallardo (1-2, 4.30 ERA) will be starting for the Brewers. After losing his first two starts of the year and earning a no decision in his third, he picked up his first win against the Pirates on April 21. In that game, he lasted 5 innings and struck out 10 batters while allowing no runs. The right-hander is 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA in eight starts and one relief appearance against the Pittsburgh.
After a strong start to the season, Pirate’s Monday night starter Zach Duke (2-1, 4.13 ERA) is coming off of his worst performance. On April 21, he gave up 6 earned runs and 3 home runs in a 8-0 loss to Milwaukee. The left-hander has struggled recently against the Brewers and has also struggled at Milwaukee. In his last 7 starts against the Brewers, he is 0-5 with an 8.63 ERA. He has yet to win in Milwaukee, going 0-5 with a 7.38 ERA in nine starts.
Pittsburgh’s recent skid has resulted in them being in last place in the NL Central. However, they are only a game behind the Brewers and can tie them in the win-loss column with a win Monday night.
