The Pittsburgh Pirates are making a noticeable shakeup to their lineup as they try to avoid a sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 17 at PNC Park, with left-hander Kyle Harrison standing in their way again.
That’s a familiar problem for Pittsburgh. Harrison has already carved them up twice in 2026, and both outings came in Milwaukee.
On April 26, he tossed six scoreless innings, allowed one hit and one walk, and struck out a career-high 12 Pirates in a 5-0 Brewers win. Then on Aug. 5, he came back with another shutdown effort: five scoreless innings, one hit, one walk and 10 strikeouts in a 4-2 Milwaukee victory.
Now the Pirates get their first shot at him at home, and they’ve answered with a reshuffled lineup built around the matchup.
Pittsburgh made three personnel changes and five positional changes after its 5-4 loss to the Brewers the last time out, when it faced right-hander Logan Henderson. Against Harrison, the Pirates are starting only two left-handed hitters - center fielder Oneil Cruz and second baseman Brandon Lowe - along with two switch hitters and five right-handed bats.
Cruz has earned the right to stay put. He’s been excellent against left-handed pitching this season, hitting .313/.368/.470 with an .838 OPS, plus 36 hits, four doubles, four homers and 17 RBI. Lowe’s numbers against southpaws haven’t been nearly as strong - .220/.264/.373 with a .637 OPS - but he’s been swinging it better lately and has homered in each of the past two games against the Brewers.
Rafael Flores Jr. also remains in the lineup after launching a solo homer in the last game, but he shifts to first base and replaces Ryan O'Hearn, the left-handed bat who returned from injury last weekend. Flores has done damage against lefties all season, batting .283/.358/.550 with a .908 OPS, and five of his nine home runs have come against them.
Bryan Reynolds, a switch-hitter, slides back to left field, while right-handed hitter Nick Gonzales moves into the designated hitter spot. Gonzales has put together a strong season at the plate, hitting .307/.370/.395 for a .765 OPS, good for the fifth-best batting average in baseball, and he remains in the chase for the National League batting title.
Jared Triolo is at third base in place of left-handed-hitting Jacob Gonzalez, and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin remains in the infield. Henry Davis gets the start at catcher, and Ronny Simon stays in right field as he looks to fight for a 2027 roster spot.
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The defensive side has taken time, but it has also moved in the right direction after work with catching coach Jordan Comadena. Flores cleaned up the early issues enough to throw out 28.6% of baserunners since the adjustment, and that improvement has only sharpened the bigger question for Don Kelly and the Pirates: whether Flores is simply a useful part of the mix or someone who may force a more serious catching decision before long. [Read more 🡒]