The Milwaukee Brewers (42-38) will be trying to retake the NL Central lead when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates (37-42) in the first game of their three-game series on Friday night.
Freddy Peralta, 5-7, 4.65 ERA, will get the start for the Brewers. The Pirates will counter with Osvaldo Bido, 0-1, 3.65 ERA.
Milwaukee and Pittsburgh split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Thursday’s game was played**
The Brewers are playing well at the moment and they’ve won four of their last six games. They will try to keep the momentum going with a win over the Pirates, which will give them their fifth win in their last seven games and the NL Central lead.
Milwaukee is averaging 4.01 runs per game. Their .226 batting average is 29th in the league. Their .305 on base percentage is 25th, while their .370 slugging percentage is 28th.
Christian Yelich leads Milwaukee with a .277 batting average. Willy Adames leads the team with 12 home runs, while Brian Anderson leads the team with 36 RBI.
Milwaukee’s pitching has been good, with the team giving up 4.29 runs per game. Opponents have a .239 batting average against the Brewers, which is eighth in the league. Their 4.02 ERA is 14th, while their 1.26 WHIP is 13th.
In his last start, Peralta gave up four hits and three runs in five innings, leading to a 4-2 loss to Cleveland. They will need a better performance from him if they want to win this game.