Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates Game 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIL	0	2	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	6	9	1
PIT	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	—	7	7	1

Milwaukee rolls in at 59-34, the best record in baseball, fresh off sweeping a Cardinals doubleheader in St. Louis earlier this week. Rookie Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.13) gets the ball for the Brewers in the 12:05 PM ET opener, drawing Pittsburgh's Braxton Ashcraft (9-3, 3.24), who's been the best story in the Pirates' rotation all season.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Brewers(59-34)

PWLWW

6

+1.5o8.5

Pirates(47-47)

PLLWW

7

-1.5u8.5

Best BetBrewers -114

Pregame

Milwaukee's the better team from top to bottom and it's basically a pick'em price, which is real value given they own the best record in baseball. Sproat's ERA is the risk here, but Ashcraft draws a Brewers lineup that's been hitting everything in sight in St. Louis. Back the Brewers to win outright at a number that undersells the talent gap.

Ashcraft isn't a name casual fans knew in March. Now he's an All-Star replacement for Paul Skenes, winner of 4 straight starts and 8 of his last 9 decisions, sitting on 122 strikeouts through 18 outings. Sproat, by contrast, is still finding his footing — he opened the year homer-prone and shaky, though a 10-strikeout gem against Cincinnati last month suggested the stuff is starting to catch up to the results.

Brandon Sproat

(3-5)·5.09 ERA

Jul 5 @ Diamondbacks

ND

4.0IP

1ER

4K

3BB

92P

Braxton Ashcraft

(9-4)·3.95 ERA

Jul 4 @ Nationals

W

5.2IP

1ER

7K

2BB

94P

Both rotations are banged up behind their starters. Milwaukee just lost Brandon Woodruff to shoulder capsule concerns and is monitoring Kyle Harrison's elbow soreness, forcing the front office to add reliever Bryse Wilson on the eve of this doubleheader for bullpen depth. Pittsburgh's issues are more about the lineup than the arms.

Milwaukee Brewers

(12)

• Day-To-DayKyle Harrison (SP) — Harrison said after Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals that he has been dealing with soreness on the outside of his elbow over the past few weeks, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.07/09
• 10-Day-ILDavid Hamilton (3B) — The Brewers placed Hamilton on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a strained left hamstring.07/07
• 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff (SP) — Medical imaging revealed an injury to Woodruff's right anterior shoulder capsule Wednesday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/08
• 15-Day-ILJoel Kuhnel (RP) — The Brewers placed Kuhnel on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to July 3, due to a right shoulder injury.07/04
• 15-Day-ILRob Zastryzny (RP) — Zastryzny (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate Friday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/03
• 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodriguez (RP) — Rodriguez (shoulder) struck out a batter and allowed three earned runs on two hits and one walk across 1.1 innings Wednesday in a rehab start for the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiiate.07/02
• 15-Day-ILDL Hall (RP) — Hall (pectoral) has progressed to throwing on flat ground from 60-to-75 feet, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
• 15-Day-ILColeman Crow (SP) — Crow (forearm) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge (LF) — The Brewers transferred Lockridge (knee) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.07/07
• 60-Day-ILBrian Fitzpatrick (RP) — Fitzpatrick (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery over the past week, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/05
• 60-Day-ILQuinn Priester (SP) — Priester will undergo thoracic outlet compression surgery on Monday and is expected to be sidelined 8-to-10 months, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.06/18
• 60-Day-ILAngel Zerpa (RP) — The Brewers transferred Zerpa (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Sunday.05/31

Pittsburgh Pirates

(7)

• 10-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — Rodriguez (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.07/08
• 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Horwitz (hamstring) has begun a running program at the Pirates' spring training complex in Florida, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
• 10-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — Cruz (hand) has resumed swinging a bat, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
• 15-Day-ILWilber Dotel (RP) — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Dotel (lat) will make another rehab appearance with a minor-league affiliate Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/06
• 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
• 60-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a torn tendon in his left ring finger, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/11
• 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/07

The Pirates were already replacing Oneil Cruz's bat before losing shortstop Konnor Griffin for 8-10 weeks with a torn tendon in his finger — a gut punch for a roster that was starting to find its footing around Ashcraft. Spencer Horwitz and Endy Rodriguez are also out, which leaves Pittsburgh's lineup thin heading into a marathon day against a Brewers pitching staff that, injuries aside, still has the deeper pool of arms to pull from.

Milwaukee Brewers

(59-34)

Jul 10P@ Pirates0-0

Jul 9W@ Cardinals8-4

Jul 8L@ Cardinals1-5

Jul 7W@ Cardinals10-2

Jul 7W@ Cardinals4-3

Pittsburgh Pirates

(47-47)

Jul 10Pvs Brewers0-0

Jul 9Lvs Braves5-10

Jul 8Lvs Braves0-3

Jul 7Wvs Braves12-4

Jul 5W@ Nationals11-5

Milwaukee's last 5 tell the story of a team that keeps finding ways to win, capped by Friday's rainout that pushed this game to a twin bill. Pittsburgh split its last homestand against Atlanta and has quietly played its way back to .500 behind Ashcraft's stretch — good enough to make this closer than the standings gap suggests, especially with a fresh bullpen and a full day of baseball still ahead for both sides.