The Brewers were rained out last night! I hope you’ll forgive that instead of rewriting an entire new game discussion, I’m just going to (mostly) copy and paste what I wrote before yesterday’s game, because both teams are using the same lineups they announced last night.
Pittsburg, PA
Game Discussion (Let’s Try This Again): Milwaukee Brewers (59-34) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (47-47)
However, there are two new pieces of information today. The first is minor, and that’s that Garrett Stallings has been spotted in Pittsburgh and is presumably the 27th man for today’s doubleheader (he should be available in the nightcap). The second is more troubling: Kyle Harrison has been placed on the 15-day injured list with forearm tightness, with Robert Gasser getting recalled to replace him on the roster.
Harrison himself has reiterated what he said a couple of days ago: that he’s not too worried. Plus, a 15-day stint on the IL right now isn’t the worst thing in the world — 15 days from July 9 means he could be eligible to return after missing only six games on the other side of the All-Star break, and he wasn’t going to pitch this weekend anyway. It sounds like the Brewers already had some sort of plan in this respect:
Hopefully, this is just a precautionary short stint for Harrison. The Brewers have proved remarkably flexible when it comes to replacing their injured starters this season, but if Harrison is lost for a longer period, it would be a real blow.
In any case, today’s game starts at 11:05 a.m., and we’ll see you for some morning baseball! The rest of the preview, as written last night, is below.
It’s the start of the last series before the All-Star break (weather permitting) and the Brewers are in Pittsburgh to wrap things up with a three-game set with the Pirates. Brandon Sproat takes the mound for the Brewers, while first-time All-Star Braxton Ashcraft will pitch for the Pirates.
Before we get to tonight’s starters, we’ve got a transaction to tell you about. Since time is, as they say, a flat circle, the Brewers have signed Bryse Wilson to a major league deal. To make room for him, they’ve sent Drew Rom to Triple-A Nashville and they’ve designated Easton McGee for assignment.
Wilson pitched for the Brewers in 2023 and 2024, serving mostly as a long-relief, semi-mop-up option. In 2023 he had quite a nice year: in 53 outings, Wilson pitched to a 2.58 ERA and went 6-0. He struggled more in 2024, but he pitched over 100 innings in a swingman role and was slightly above league average via ERA+. However, in both seasons, Wilson vastly outperformed his peripheral numbers, and since leaving the Brewers, things have been a struggle. He made 20 appearances for the White Sox in 2025 and had a 6.65 ERA in 47 1/3 innings; in three big-league appearances in 2026 (two with the Cubs, one with the Phillies), he’s allowed seven runs, all earned, in 9 2/3 innings. Wilson’s role with the Brewers, for however long it lasts (likely not long), will surely be similar to what it was when he last pitched for them in 2024: mop-up duty. (For those who are optimists, Wilson is generally good at not walking guys, but he doesn’t really strike them out, either, and over the last couple of seasons he has been eminently hittable, with about 12.5 hits per nine innings.)
Back to tonight’s action. Sproat will look to get into the break on a high note. Sproat’s last outing was a mixture of good and bad: he was not pitching well, needed 92 pitches, and allowed eight baserunners to get through just four innings pitched. But the good news is that he was mostly able to work his way out of trouble, too, and he somehow allowed just one run in those four innings, a game which Milwaukee eventually won 3-2 against the Diamondbacks. It was an encouraging sign of maturation that he didn’t just implode when things weren’t going well. Since the beginning of June, Sproat has a very solid 3.30 ERA in 30 innings pitched, and the team is 5-1 in his starts, a stark contrast to his 6.24 ERA and 5-6 team record prior to last month.
Ashcraft has been quite good for Pittsburgh, as evidenced by his status as an All-Star injury replacement. He’s just 26 and in his second season, and he’s done nothing but pitch well since his debut in late May of last season. This year, Ashcraft is 9-3 with a 3.24 ERA (134 ERA+) and even better 3.16 FIP. He’s got sterling peripherals (10.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) and is a hard thrower who plays a curveball and sinker off a four-seamer that sits around 97 mph. The curveball, especially, is one of the better ones in the league.
The Brewers continue to rotate through their position players as they reach the end of this 18-games-in-17-days stretch. Christian Yelich is back in the leadoff spot, while the outfield goes Luis Lara, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick from left to right. William Contreras is behind the plate, while the infield is Joey Ortiz, Cooper Pratt, Brice Turang, and Jake Bauers.
After last night’s rainout, first pitch has been scheduled for 11:05 a.m. CT, with game two coming either at 3:05 p.m. or one hour after the end of game one, if that’s later than 3:05.
Pittsburg, PA
Mets win 4th in a row as Pirates continue slide
Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer, rookie Zac Thornton pitched five scoreless innings and the New York Mets matched a season high with their fourth straight win by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 on Friday night.
Semien’s second homer in two games and 14th of the season, a drive to left-center off Carmen Mlodzinski, capped a four-run third that put the Mets ahead 5-0. New York, last in the NL East, swept a three-game series in Cleveland before busing to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
Thornton (3-2) allowed four hits while striking out three and walking two. The left-hander remained in the game following a 36-minute rain delay in the top of the third.
Pittsburgh got two runs in the seventh and then two more in the ninth off closer Devin Williams, but a pair of baserunning mistakes cost the Pirates as they tried to rally.
Semien made a sliding stop at second base of Bryan Reynolds’ grounder with a runner aboard to end it.
Mets rookie outfielder Carson Benge was removed with left wrist soreness in the bottom of the fourth, one inning after sliding into the wall in the left-field corner while catching a flyball hit by Ronny Simon.
Benge was replaced by Cristian Pache with the Mets leading 6-0. Benge helped New York build the lead with a pair of run-scoring singles.
Making his first start since May 25, Mlodzinski (6-4) was tagged for five runs and seven hits in three innings. Mlodzinski returned to the rotation from the bullpen after Mitch Keller sustained a season-ending right shoulder injury in his previous start.
A.J. Ewing, another rookie outfielder, had three hits and scored twice for the Mets. Ewing led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Benge, who also singled home a run in the third before Semien homered. Francisco Lindor added an RBI single in the fourth.
The Pirates, who are 4-11 since the All-Star break, got two hits each from Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Simon and Jared Triolo.
Mets RHP Robert Stock (0-1, 1.80 ERA) faces rookie RHP Bubba Chandler (4-8, 4.49) on Saturday night.
Pittsburg, PA
Belle Vernon athletic director Matt Humbert leaving district for same role at Bethel Park
Belle Vernon Area athletic director Matt Humbert is stepping down from his position to take on the same role with the Bethel Park School District.
Humbert has been the athletic director at Belle Vernon for more than a decade and also served as the district’s football coach for a number of years.
While the football coach at Belle Vernon, Humbert was highly successful, winning two WPIAL titles and two PIAA state championships in 2021 and 2022.
In a letter to district parents and families, Belle Vernon Area superintendent Timothy Glasspool said that Humbert “worked tirelessly to build a culture centered on excellence, accountability, and pride.”
“While we are certainly disappointed to see Coach Humbert leave Belle Vernon Area, we understand and respect his decision to continue his career at Bethel Park School District,” the letter said. “We are grateful for his years of dedicated service and wish him every success and happiness in this next chapter.”
Humbert will be continuing in his role at Belle Vernon through the end of September and is expected to begin his duties at Bethel Park next month.
It’s unclear how soon Belle Vernon Area is expected to hire or appoint Humbert’s replacement.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Penguins sign forward with just 14 career points to an 8-year, $32 million contract extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a very surprising move on Thursday.
The club announced that they have re-signed restricted free agent forward Ville Koivunen to an 8-year, $32 million contract extension ($4 million AAV). A deal of that length for any player tends to raise the eyebrows of the hockey world, but this one was even more unique in that regard because Koivunen has played just 47 career NHL games and recorded just 14 points (2g, 12a) in those contests.
Koivunen is now on the books with the Penguins through the 2033-34 season.
“There were many factors that led to us going down this path,” general manager Kyle Dubas said in a press release. “But the primary factor was watching the way the market evolved over the season and especially the summer and trying to best plan for the future of the Penguins. We view the contract as a bet – on Ville, his potential, and our belief that he is going to do the work to reach that potential.”
Koivunen, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, was traded to the Penguins in 2024 as part of Pittsburgh’s return for star winger Jake Guentzel. He has been a star-level producer in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, notching 41 points (13g, 28a) in 34 games during the 2025-26 campaign, but recorded only 7 points (2g, 5a) in 39 NHL games with the Penguins.
Despite spending much of the season in the NHL, the 23-year-old Finnish forward led the Baby Pens in assists (28), ranked second in points (41), and had the highest points-per-game average on the team (1.21). Koivunen added nine points (4g, 5a) in 15 games during this past spring’s postseason.
The Penguins still have over $10 million in cap space this offseason after finishing second in the Metropolitan Division last season. They have several important players entering the final seasons on their contracts, including star veterans like captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson.
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