Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers: What to Expect

After a successful homestand that saw them go 4-3 against the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, the Pirates are looking to take their momentum on the road. Their first stop is in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers, a place that hasn't been kind to the Pirates.

Riding the momentum of a strong homestand, the Pittsburgh Pirates now have to face a nine-game, 11-day homestand that will take them through Milwaukee, Detroit, and Minnesota. It will be a daunting stretch that will test this team's resilience and ability to battle night in and night out. However, the Pirates showed they can battle when they split their four-game series with the San Diego Padres this week, a team they were supposed to get swept by. The offense combined to score 17 runs in the four-game series and the Pirates have won four of their last six ball games. The offense has really come to life as of late and has carried them to some big wins early in the season.

However, they are getting set to head into Milwaukee, a place they have not done well in recent history. They have gone just 2-11 at newly named American Family Field (formerly Miller Park) and they have been outscored in those games 63-31. It is no secret that American Family Field is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in Major League Baseball, but the Pirates just haven't been able to take advantage of it. They temporarily broke the Miller Park curse in the mid-2010s, but ur is beginning to set back in as we move into the 2020s. However, 2021 is a new year and a chance for this Pirates team to start trending upwards for the future. Today, we look at what to expect as the Pirates get ready for their first match-up with the Milwaukee Brewers this season.

Scouting The Brew Crew

The Milwaukee Brewers enter Friday night's contest riding high after winning four of their last five games, including taking two of three from both the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. However, much like the Pirates, the Brewers did not get out to a hot start out of the gate. They started the season out 1-3, and their pitching faltered, allowing 21 runs over the first four games of the season. However, the staff has turned things around and has allowed more than three runs just once in their last seven games played. Because of this, they have risen through the NL Central standings and sit tied atop with the Cincinnati Reds. They handled the slumping Chicago Cubs this week, taking two out of three and allowing just six runs to score all series.

The Pirates luckily missed the heart of the Brewers pitching staff, but in the finale, they will still have to face the hot hand of Freddy Peralta. Peralta has made three starts for the Brewers this season and has posted an 0.69 ERA in 13 innings while striking out 24 batters. Collectively, the Brewers pitching staff has the fifth-lowest ERA in the league (2.92) and is tied for seventh in the league in strikeouts (120). On the offensive side, the two people for the Pirates to pay attention to in the lineup are Christian Yelich and Travis Shaw. After coming off a down-year in 2020, Yelich has seemed to find his swing and is hitting .333 with an RBI. He has been a singles machine this season and is setting the table for the Brewer's offense. However, the run production is coming from Travis Shaw, who is hitting .297 with three home runs and 12 RBI. The Pirates will have to slow down these two hot bats if they want to be successful.

Don't Restart the Curse of American Family Field (Miller Park)

We have all heard about the curse of Miller Park the Pirates suffered through in the late 2000s and early 2010s. From 2008 to 2011, the Pirates won a total of four games at then Miller Park and gave up five runs or more per game in each of those seasons on the road. After turning it around from 2013 to 2019, and seeing moderate success, it is looking like things are trending back toward the cursed years. In 2019 and 2020, the Pirates have gone just 2-11 at Miller Park and as we said above have been outscored 63-31 in those games. Hopefully, a new name to the field means a new start for the Pirates as they try and start a track record of winning at American Family Field. To do that, the offense is going to have to be a big part of this series at a field where one swing can change the momentum of a game.

However, neither of these teams has a lot of power, so it may come down to clutch extra-base hits to win the game. In the home run department, the Brewers rank 19th in the league (13) while the Pirates are 27th (10). However, when you turn the story to doubles, the Pirates have a major advantage over the Brewers. The Pirates have hit the fifth most doubles in all of baseball this season (25) while the Brewers have hit the second-fewest (11). This is an advantage the Pirates have to capitalize on if they want to be successful in this series. When you lack power, you have to rack up the extra-base hits to make up for it, and the Pirates will need a lot of clutch extra-base hits if they want to be successful in this three-game series.

Pitching Stays Solid

If you put yesterday's horrible Mitch Keller start aside, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers have been pretty consistent as of late. During the homestand that saw the Pirates go 4-3, the starting pitchers did their part in keeping the Bucs in ball games. One of the Pirate's best starters this season, JT Brubaker, gets things started and it will be up to him to start things on the right foot. Through his first two starts of the season, Brubaker has gone an impressive 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA, while also handling the bat pretty well. He is now getting a chance to face what has been one of the worst offenses in the league and is looking to hold them at bay and give the Pirate's offense a chance.

The other two pitchers in the series are Trevor Cahill on Saturday and Chad Kuhl on Sunday. Cahill has been a tale of two starts so far this season, after allowing seven earned runs in four innings his first start, and allowing one run over five innings in his second start. The difference between the two starts was the sharpness of his breaking ball and the ability to get swings and misses. He struck out a career-high eight batters his last time out and is looking to bring that swing and miss stuff with him to Milwaukee. As for Kuhl, the first inning has been his Kryptonite this season, as he has a 24.00 ERA in the first inning. His goal will be to get through the first inning and hope his stuff plays well for the rest of the game. Pitching is going to be a big part of this series, and the Pirates starters need to be sharp if the team wants to be successful.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (5-8) start their grueling nine-game road trip when they head to take on the Milwaukee Brewers (7-5) tonight at 8:10 pm. JT Brubaker (1-0, 1.93) takes the mound looking to continue his hot start to the season against Adrian Houser (1-1, 1.80) for the Brewers. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.