Game Thread #52: Milwaukee Brewers (25-26) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (17-34)

Major pitching showdown as Brewers look to get back to .500

A night after a rain-soaked game ended in an 8-5 Brewers victory after a lengthy delay in the sixth inning, the Brewers and Pirates will play game two of this four-game series with a star-powered pitching matchup. Paul Skenes, one of the young faces of the league and already one of the best pitchers in baseball, will take on the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, who is, as of this late-May date, having his best season.

Skenes, of course, is the Pirates’ biggest star by far, so good so quickly that there are already discussions of whether the otherwise moribund Pirates should consider trading him even though he’s only in his second year. While the Brewers’ struggling offense found some joy in Thursday’s game, they may not have the same luck against Skenes, even though he hasn’t been quite as good as he was in his rookie season, in which he won Rookie of the Year and finished third in Cy Young voting despite making only 23 starts. In 2025, Skenes has started ten games and owns a 2.44 ERA and 2.74 FIP to go along with 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 while averaging about 98 mph on his fastball. Despite that success, though, Skenes is just 3-5 on the season thanks to pitiful run support.

While he doesn’t have the same dominant stuff, Peralta has been almost as good as Skenes. He’s also made 10 starts, and while his FIP lags behind a bit (3.67), Peralta’s 2.59 ERA is in the same zone as Skenes. Peralta has been slightly more efficient this season — something he’s struggled with in the past — and the Brewers will be hoping that he can go deep into this game, as the bullpen remains somewhat shorthanded after several days of taxing work. (Everyone other than probably Rob Zastryzny and Trevor Megill should be available today, and expect any potential save opportunity to go to Abner Uribe.)

Regarding that bullpen depth, Milwaukee did make a move this afternoon to bring in some further reinforcement. Carlos Rodríguez, after saving the bullpen a bit with 3 ¹⁄₃ innings around a long rain delay on Thursday night, was optioned back to Nashville today with Aaron Ashby coming in the opposite direction. Ashby hasn’t pitched in the majors yet this season as he’s been recovering from an oblique strain suffered in spring training, but he’s looked good in four rehab outings with the Sounds and will join the group in Pittsburgh for tonight’s game.

Joey Ortiz gets tonight’s game off after hitting his second home run last night, with Andruw Monasterio starting at shortstop. Jake Bauers will also return to left field in place of Isaac Collins.

First pitch is slated for 5:40 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.