The Pirates and Brewers are set to close out the first half with a three-game series at PNC Park from July 10-12, and the pitching matchups give the finale real juice.
Pittsburgh opens the set on July 10 with right-hander Braxton Ashcraft against Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat, then turns to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler on July 11 opposite Milwaukee left-hander Shane Droban. But the spotlight belongs to July 12, when Paul Skenes takes on Jacob Misiorowski in a battle between two of baseball’s top arms.
That matchup has already produced fireworks once. The two met last season at American Family Field on June 25, 2025, when Skenes allowed four runs over four innings and Misiorowski fired five scoreless frames with eight strikeouts in Milwaukee’s 4-2 win. It was just Misiorowski’s third MLB start.
Skenes has had a different kind of success against the Brewers in his most recent look. On April 24 at American Family Field, he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, finished with one hit allowed and seven strikeouts, and helped Pittsburgh roll to a 6-0 win. The Pirates also handled Misiorowski this season, knocking him around for six hits and three runs - tied for a season-high - in a 6-3 extra-inning win on April 25, even with nine strikeouts from the Milwaukee right-hander.
Both pitchers come in after strong but imperfect outings on July 7. Skenes gave up two runs over six innings against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park and earned a quality start in Pittsburgh’s 12-4 win, snapping a stretch of nine straight Pirates losses in his starts.
Misiorowski allowed three runs against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, but he also struck out 11 and got the win in a 4-3 Brewers victory.
Misiorowski has emerged as one of the best aces in 2026, while Skenes is still posting strong numbers even if he’s not matching the level he reached in 2025, when he won the National League Cy Young Award. That sets up what should be one of the season’s best head-to-head pitching showdowns.
Ashcraft’s start in the opener carries its own significance. He earned an All-Star nod as the replacement for Skenes, who won’t pitch in the game because he’s scheduled to throw two days earlier. The numbers back up the selection: Ashcraft is 9-3 with a 3.24 ERA in 18 starts, has thrown 108.1 innings, struck out 122 and walked 25, and owns a .234 BAA and 1.10 WHIP.
He was sharp in his last outing, too, working 5.2 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 4 after giving up a leadoff homer. Against Milwaukee, he’s making just his second career start. In his first MLB start on June 23, 2025 at American Family Field, he threw three scoreless innings in a 5-4 Pirates win.
Chandler’s assignment comes with a little more volatility. Pittsburgh has given the rookie a full-time rotation role, and the results have swung from encouraging to rough. He enters with a 3-8 record, a 4.82 ERA over 89.2 innings, 79 strikeouts and a MLB-leading 52 walks, along with a .227 BAA and 1.44 WHIP.
There have been better stretches. From June 7-25, Chandler gave up seven earned runs across 17.1 innings in four outings and three starts.
He also went deeper than ever in his June 30 start against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, reaching the seventh inning, though he still allowed five earned runs. His July 5 outing against the Nationals was less efficient, with four earned runs in four innings.
He’ll also be trying to move past the roughest start of his MLB career, which came against the Brewers on Sept. 7, 2025, when he was tagged for nine earned runs in 2.2 innings. For the Pirates, the hope is that Chandler can steady things and give them a chance to grab an early edge in a series that matters in the National League Wild Card race.
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Pirates May Have A Surprising Option At Fifth Overall
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For a club trying to balance immediate upside with long-term development, the fifth pick could come down to what kind of player the front office wants to bet on. Flora fits the profile of a polished college pitcher, while Booth offers the sort of younger, higher-risk ceiling that can appeal in the top half of the first round. The Pirates still have time before July 11-12, but the range of names already in play suggests this pick may not be as straightforward as it first looked. [Read more 🡒]