Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIL	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	0	5	8	1
PIT	0	4	0	10	0	0	0	0	—	14	15	0

This one was supposed to be a heavyweight pitching duel. Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski was originally lined up to face Skenes, but arm fatigue scratched him from the 12:15 PM ET matinee, bumping Robert Gasser into the start instead. Gasser had been terrific his last time out, working 7.2 innings against the Cardinals, but this was a much different animal against a Pirates club that had already won two straight.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Brewers(59-36)

LLPWL

5

+1.5-170+122o7.5-133

Pirates(49-47)

WWPLL

14

-1.5+170-122u7.5+130

Best BetBrewers +108

Postgame

Missed — Milwaukee's plus-money price never mattered as Pittsburgh blew it open for a 14-5 win.

Pregame

Milwaukee came in with the best record in baseball at 59-36 and still priced as the moneyline underdog, which made the Brewers the value side on paper. That gap between overall record and market price is usually worth backing, even on the road against a hot Pirates club and their ace.

Skenes came in on the back of a win over Atlanta and carrying a sub-4.00 ERA, and Pittsburgh had every incentive to send the Brewers home smarting — this was the finale of a set the Pirates were already up 2-0 in, doubleheader sweep included. Milwaukee's pitching depth is thin right now, with Brandon Woodruff and Kyle Harrison both down long-term, so any slippage in the rotation gets exposed fast.

Robert Gasser

(3-4)·4.71 ERA

Jul 7 @ Cardinals

W

7.2IP

2ER

4K

1BB

94P

07/12 Lineup

Paul Skenes

(9-9)·3.65 ERA

Jul 7 vs Braves

W

6.0IP

2ER

4K

1BB

95P

07/12 Lineup

None of that mattered once the bats got going. Pittsburgh had been the more competitive team over its last five games even sitting under .500 on the season, and against a Brewers club that had lost three of its last four coming in, the gap between the standings and the day-to-day form wasn't as wide as it looked on paper.

The Pirates didn't need to sneak this one out. A 4-run second inning got things rolling, and then a 10-run fourth put the game away entirely — the kind of inning that turns a pitching matchup into batting practice. Gasser, who'd been so sharp against St. Louis, had nowhere to hide once Pittsburgh's lineup got rolling, and Milwaukee's already-stressed bullpen didn't have an answer either.

Milwaukee Brewers

(12)

• Day-To-DayJacob Misiorowski (SP) — Misiorowski (arm) is expected to resume throwing Tuesday but won't make a start next weekend against the Marlins in the Brewers' first series coming out of the All-Star break, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/12
• 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-ILKyle 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.07/11
• 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
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff (SP) — The Brewers transferred Woodruff (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.07/12
• 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 transferred Griffin (finger) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com 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

Milwaukee's injury list is starting to bite. Misiorowski's scratch is the headline, but Woodruff's move to the 60-day IL and Harrison's elbow soreness leave the NL Central's best record leaning harder than it would like on a rotation running thin. Pittsburgh, missing Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz and Endy Rodriguez, still found more than enough offense to make it academic.

Milwaukee Brewers

(59-36)

Jul 11L@ Pirates2-3

Jul 11L@ Pirates6-7

Jul 10P@ Pirates0-0

Jul 9W@ Cardinals8-4

Jul 8L@ Cardinals1-5

Pittsburgh Pirates

(49-47)

Jul 11Wvs Brewers3-2

Jul 11Wvs Brewers7-6

Jul 10Pvs Brewers0-0

Jul 9Lvs Braves5-10

Jul 8Lvs Braves0-3

Milwaukee's cushion atop the division is still plenty comfortable, but a laugher like this one is a reminder that even the best record in baseball can have an ugly Sunday. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, banks a series sweep and a signature win from its ace heading into the next stretch of the schedule.