After a 3-4 road trip, the Brewers have a six-game homestand to finish the schedule before the All-Star break. They lost 2 1⁄2 games in the standings to the Cardinals and hope to rebuild that before the break. To start the homestand, they’ll face the Pirates for three games at home. The Pirates are 9 1⁄2 games back in the NL Central standings, but just four games back in the Wild Card standings.

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This will be the Brewers' third series against the Pirates this season. So far, the Brewers are 4-3 against the Pirates this season. They split a series 2-2 in Pittsburgh in April, then took a series 2-1 at home in May. The last series between these two teams will be in late September in the second-to-last series of the season.

On offense, Bryan Reynolds has led the offense this season. He’s really stepped up his production in the last month. In the last 30 days, he’s posted a .333/.386/.648 batting line with eight HR, 20 RBI, and a 187 wRC+. Also, Rowdy Tellez has really come around in the last 30 days. He’s had a .342/.385/.644 batting line with six HR, 16 RBI, and a 186 wRC+ over that time. However, as a team, they’ve struggled on offense. They’re 26th in MLB with a 87 wRC+ this season.

Injuries have decimated the Pirates pitching staff. They have 10 pitchers currently on the injured list, which includes four different starting pitchers. The most recent additions were Bailey Falter and Jared Jones, which will force the Pirates to dip further into their pitching depth. They’re also missing David Bednar (5.17 ERA, 16 SV), who has been handling the closing duties for the Pirates. Aroldis Chapman (4.13 ERA, three SV) has slid into that role since then. Carmen Mlodzinski (3.42 ERA), Kyle Nicholas (4.00 ERA), and Colin Holderman (1.93 ERA) have also been paying critical roles in the bullpen in recent weeks.

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday, July 9 @ 7:10 p.m: TBD vs. Colin Rea (3.34 ERA, 4.61 FIP)

The Pirates have not announced their starter for Tuesday yet. This would have been Jared Jones’ spot in the rotation, but he was placed on the injured list with a right lat strain. They could activate Quinn Priester from the IL, He’s made two rehab starts with Indianapolis and his last start was on July 2. Priester has made a start against the Brewers this season, allowing four runs in six innings on May 14. Other options are thin, with only Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows on the 40-man roster.

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