After getting trounced in the series opener, the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates will look to bounce back on Friday night when they face the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rookie Quinn Priester (2-1, 9.19 ERA) will make his fourth career start for the Pirates, while fellow right-hander Colin Rea (5-4, 4.76) will get the nod for the Brewers.
Milwaukee set a season high for runs in a 14-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Sal Frelick drove in five runs with a three-run homer and a two-run double, and fellow rookie Brice Turang also had a three-run blast to pace the Brewers’ 16-hit attack.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller continued his second-half struggles, allowing eight runs on nine hits in five innings. He has lost four straight starts since pitching one inning in the All-Star Game.
The Brewers seized a half-game lead in the National League Central over the Cincinnati Reds, who lost to the Cubs 5-3 on Thursday.
Milwaukee is 48-13 when scoring four or more runs, and 11-38 when scoring three or less.
“I thought we just came out swinging the bats really well,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “We were aggressive in the right spots and put up five in the first two — that’s impressive.”
Frelick, hitting .273 overall, is batting .467 (7-for-15) with two homers and eight RBI in six games at American Family Field.
Christian Yelich had his team-leading 11th three-hit game of the season on Thursday. Yelich is batting .335 (66-for-197) with nine homers, 37 RBIs and 36 runs over his last 49 games.
Rea, who will make his 20th appearance and 19th start of the season on Friday, has been dependable since being called up in mid-May due to injuries in the rotation. The Brewers are 11-7 in games he’s started.
Rea received a no-decision Sunday after allowing five runs on five hits in five innings against the Atlanta Braves. He is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in three career games (two starts) vs. the Pirates, including a 6-3 decision on July 2 in which he permitted two runs in 6 2/3 innings.
After giving up seven runs in his debut on July 17, Priester has won his last two starts despite allowing nine runs in 10 1/3 innings.
He got the win in his last start despite giving up five runs on five hits in five innings in a 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
“I think the breaking balls were just coming out good,” Priester said after his last start. “I thought early I was locating the fastball well, and then the breaking balls could really just play off that.”
Priester will face the Brewers for the first time. The Pirates’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2022, Priester was 7-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 18 starts this season at Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up.
Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to seven games with a first-inning single Thursday. He is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with two homers, three RBIs and five runs over that span.
–Field Level Media
