This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The Milwaukee Brewers will try and continue their home-field success behind right-hander Colin Rea when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.
The Pirates have not yet named a starter opposite Rea (8-2, 3.34 ERA).
Pittsburgh defeated the New York Mets 8-2 on Monday behind Mitch Keller, who allowed two runs over eight innings after not being selected for the All-Star Game. Oneil Cruz hit a two-run homer and Joshua Palacios added a solo shot for the Pirates.
Milwaukee, which was idle Monday, is coming off a 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday to finish a 3-4 road trip. Christian Yelich and Eric Haase each had a two-run homer, and Blake Perkins added a solo shot for the Brewers.
Milwaukee is 22-6 in its past 28 home games after a 5-7 start and has won its past nine home series.
Rea, who has become one of the Brewers’ most consistent starters, is coming off his best outing of the season, tossing seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win at Colorado on Wednesday.
“You might change your strategy, you might change your emphasis, but you’ve still got to go compete pitch to pitch and figure out a way,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said after Rea’s last start. “You just can’t let it get in your head. Colin Rea didn’t, that’s for sure. And that tells you everything you need to know about that young man.”
Rea is 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA in his past eight outings, including six starts.
He is 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA in five career games (four starts) versus Pittsburgh. Rea took the loss in his lone start against the Pirates this season on May 13, when he allowed three runs over six innings.
Yelich, named an All-Star for the first time since 2019, hit .393 (11-for-28) on the road trip with three homers and five RBIs.
Behind William Contreras and veteran backup Gary Sanchez, Haase did not initially make the big-league club this season despite hitting .395 with five home runs and 14 RBIs over 38 at-bats during spring training.
Haase is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with a homer and three RBIs in three games since being called up from Triple-A Nashville when Sanchez was injured.
Pittsburgh, 4-6 over its past 10 games, sits in third place in the National League Central, 9 1/2 games back of the division-leading Brewers.
Ke’Bryan Hayes pinch hit for Cruz in the eighth inning Monday. Pirates manager Derek Shelton told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Cruz’s hamstring tightened up while running the bases in the sixth inning and that he was pulled out of an “abundance of caution.”
Pittsburgh reliever Carmen Mlodzinski has an 0.87 ERA and .169 batting average against him in his past 15 outings dating back to May 31. The right-hander faced the Brewers eight times last season, picking up a pair of victories with a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings.
Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who spent the previous 2 1/2 seasons with Milwaukee, is starting to heat up. He is hitting .351 (13-for-37) with five homers, including a grand slam, and 11 RBIs over his past 12 games.
–Field Level Media
