Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates

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

Braxton Ashcraft (9-3, 3.24 ERA) takes the ball for Pittsburgh looking to make it 5 straight winning starts before he heads to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game. Milwaukee counters with Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.13 ERA), pressed into a bigger rotation role than anyone wanted. First pitch is 6:40 PM ET at PNC Park.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Brewers(59-34)

WLWWW

0

+1.5-186+113o8.5-100

Pirates(47-47)

LLWWW

0

-1.5+178-115u8.5-102

Best BetBrewers +107

Pregame

Milwaukee is the best team in baseball right now and still getting plus money on the road, which is the definition of value. Pittsburgh's lineup is missing four regulars, and Ashcraft alone isn't enough to flip a game against a Brewers club that just went 4-1 on a road trip. Take the Brewers at plus odds and lean into the depth gap.

Sproat's last outing was mixed — 4 innings, 1 earned run, but 3 walks against 4 strikeouts in a no-decision versus Arizona — and he's filling a hole created by Brandon Woodruff's shoulder capsule injury, which has the Brewers scrambling for rotation depth. Pittsburgh's lineup is banged up in its own right, missing Endy Rodriguez, Spencer Horwitz, Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin, which is a lot of everyday production to replace against a Milwaukee staff that, shaky as it's been, can still miss bats.

Brandon Sproat

(3-5)·5.09 ERA

Jul 5 @ Diamondbacks

ND

4.0IP

1ER

4K

3BB

92P

07/10 Lineup

Braxton Ashcraft

(9-4)·3.95 ERA

Jul 4 @ Nationals

W

5.2IP

1ER

7K

2BB

94P

07/10 Lineup

Both clubs are trying to get out of this weekend healthy and rested before the break. Milwaukee's is a victory-lap trip; Pittsburgh's is a fight to not fall further off the pace.

Milwaukee Brewers

(59-34)

Jul 9W@ Cardinals8-4

Jul 8L@ Cardinals1-5

Jul 7W@ Cardinals10-2

Jul 7W@ Cardinals4-3

Jul 6W@ Cardinals4-3

Pittsburgh Pirates

(47-47)

Jul 9Lvs Braves5-10

Jul 8Lvs Braves0-3

Jul 7Wvs Braves12-4

Jul 5W@ Nationals11-5

Jul 4W@ Nationals7-1

The Brewers arrive fresh off taking 4 of 5 from the Cardinals in St. Louis, punctuated by an 8-4 win Thursday behind homers from Jake Bauers and Brice Turang. At 59-34, they're running away with the NL Central. The Pirates, meanwhile, dropped 2 of their last 3 to Atlanta — including a 0-3 shutout loss — and sit dead even at 47-47, treading water in a season that's starting to feel more like a bridge to next year than a playoff push.

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
• 10-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.07/07
• 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-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/07

Ashcraft has quietly become Pittsburgh's best pitcher this season, and he's the reason this doesn't feel like a laugher on paper even with the Brewers running the National League's best record. But one great arm can only do so much when the lineup behind him is missing four regulars and the team on the other side has scored in bunches all week.