Pittsburgh takes on Milwaukee in division matchup
Milwaukee Brewers (32-25, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (27-28, third in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin (3-6, 4.88 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 42 strikeouts) Pirates: Chris Archer (1-5, 5.75 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 40 strikeouts)
LINE: Brewers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: NL Central rivals Pittsburgh and Milwaukee will face off at PNC Park.
The Pirates are 11-9 against NL Central teams. The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.93, Jordan Lyles paces the staff with a mark of 3.09.
The Brewers are 13-9 against the rest of their division. Milwaukee has a collective on-base percentage of .325, good for second in the National League. Christian Yelich leads the club with a mark of .393. The Brewers won the last meeting 11-5. Chase Anderson earned his third victory and Mike Moustakas went 4-for-6 with two home runs and four RBIs for Milwaukee. Joe Musgrove took his sixth loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 40 extra base hits and is slugging .711. Bryan Reynolds has 13 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
Yelich leads the Brewers with 45 RBIs and is batting .313. Yasmani Grandal has 13 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .295 batting average, 7.88 ERA, outscored by 25 runs
Brewers: 5-5, .266 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
Pirates Injuries: Trevor Williams: 10-day IL (side), Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Chris Stratton: 10-day IL (side), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordan Lyles: day-to-day (hamstring), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 10-day IL (shoulder), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Corey Dickerson: 60-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Jung Ho Kang: 10-day IL (side), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 7-day IL (concussion).
Brewers Injuries: Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Travis Shaw: 10-day IL (wrist), Manny Pina: 10-day IL (hamstring).
