Brewers, Pirates open second half both looking to stay hot
Two of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball are set to square off in Miller Park.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are making move up the ladder in the National League Central Division, and the Milwaukee Brewers are playing as well as anyone over the last three weeks.
| BEST RECORD SINCE JUNE 23 | ||
| Team | Record | Winning pct. |
| Pirates | 14-5 | .737 |
| Angels | 12-5 | .706 |
| Brewers | 13-6 | .684 |
| White Sox | 11-6 | .647 |
| Nationals | 11-6 | .647 |
The teams, though, have been winning in different ways.
Since June 23, Pittsburgh has won nine games by 2 or fewer runs, more than any other club (the White Sox have eight and Boston, New York Mets and Colorado seven).
Meanwhile, Milwaukee has been slugging its way to victories. The Brewers have posted eight wins by three or more runs in that same time span (the Angels are next with seven while seven teams have done it six times).
With two hot teams playing each other, could history be a factor in who takes the series?
| BEST WIN PCT. AT HOME VS. DIVISION OPPONENT SINCE 2006 | |||
| Team | Opponent | Record | Winning pct. |
| Brewers | Pirates | 59-19 | .756 |
| Yankees | Blue Jays | 59-27 | .686 |
| Blue Jays | Orioles | 61-28 | .685 |
| Brewers | Astros | 39-18 | .684 |
| Cardinals | Reds | 51-25 | .671 |
Other notes:
-- Getting Jean Segura untracked certainly would help Milwaukee. Don't tell the Pirates, but if they throw him offspeed pitches that might help. Seguar has the fourth-highest batting average in the NL vs. offspeed pitches at .308.
-- Speaking of offspeed pitches, Friday's starter Mike Fiers has a swing and miss rate of 42.5 percent on his curveball, which is the fifth-best percentage in the majors.
-- Milwaukee better hope it gets to Charlie Morton (Friday) and Francisco Liriano (Saturday) early. Morton has the best opponent OPS on the third time through a lineup in the majors, a paltry .402. Liriano is fourth at .502.
Statistics courtesy STATS Inc.
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