Davies scheduled to start as Milwaukee hosts Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Pirates (39-42, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (44-39, second in the NL Central)
Milwaukee; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Steven Brault (3-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 44 strikeouts) Brewers: Zach Davies (7-2, 3.34 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 57 strikeouts)
LINE: Brewers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Brewers are 21-13 against NL Central opponents. Milwaukee has hit 140 combined home runs this season, most in the National League. Christian Yelich leads the team with 29 homers.
The Pirates are 13-15 against teams from the NL Central. The Pittsburgh offense has compiled a .265 batting average as a team this season, good for seventh in the majors. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with an average of .362. The Brewers won the last meeting 3-1. Brandon Woodruff recorded his 10th victory and Eric Thames went 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run and two RBIs for Milwaukee. Jordan Lyles took his fourth loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yelich leads the Brewers with 29 home runs and is slugging .704. Yasmani Grandal is 7-for-33 with two doubles, three home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 70 RBIs and is batting .303. Kevin Newman is 18-for-46 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 4-6, .226 batting average, 5.16 ERA, outscored by 12 runs
Pirates: 7-3, .295 batting average, 3.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
Brewers Injuries: Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Jimmy Nelson: 10-day IL (elbow), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Gio Gonzalez: 10-day IL (arm).
Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 60-day IL (shoulder), Rookie Davis: 10-day IL (finger/forearm), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Chris Archer: day-to-day (hip), Gregory Polanco: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 10-day IL (concussion).
