The Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet in game one of a three-game NL Central division set in MLB action from PNC Park on Monday. Who draws first blood in this rivalry series? Let’s dive in and find out.

Brewers Fail To Sweep Phillies

The Milwaukee Brewers had a great start to their series with a pair of wins but couldn’t complete the sweep after a 4-2 loss to Philly in Sunday’s series finale. The loss dropped Milwaukee to 76-60 on the year, sitting 3.5 games clear at the top of the NL Central division. Christian Yelich leads the Brewers with 141 hits, 69 RBIs and a .278 batting average as well as a .365 OBP while Willy Adames comes in with a team-leading 22 home runs with Yelich just five off of the pace at 17. William Contreras leads the Brewers with 3 doubles while Adames has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Brewers with 140 strikeouts this season. Corbin Burnes will start for the Brewers here and is 9-7 with a 3.55 ERA and 167 strikeouts this season.

Milwaukee Brewers Team Facts

– The Brewers have won each of their last eight night games against the Pirates following a home loss.

– The Brewers have covered the run line in each of their last four night games against National League opponents.

– The Brewers have led after 3 innings in each of their last three games at PNC Park.

– The Brewers have led after 5 innings in each of their last five games against the Pirates at PNC Park.

– The Brewers have led after 7 innings in each of their last five games against opponents that held a losing record.

Pirates Fail To Sweep Cards, Win Streak Snapped

The Pittsburgh Pirates had their five-game win streak snapped thanks to a 6-4 loss to St. Louis in Sunday’s series finale. The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 63-74 on the year, sitting 13.5 games back in the NL Central and 7 games back in the NL Wild Card race. Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 128 hits and 67 RBIs with a .264 batting average while Jack Suwinski has a team-high 22 home runs and 56 RBIs this season. Andrew McCutchen also has a team-best .377 OBP this season. The Pirates did not have a starting pitcher announced at the time that this article was posted.

Pittsburgh Pirates Team Facts

– The Pirates have won each of their last seven games against National League opponents following a road loss.

– The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last eight games against National League opponents following a road loss.

– The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last five home games.

Matchup/League Facts

– The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks 27th in the league for hits this season (1070).

– The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks T27th in the league for home runs this season (133).

– The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 1st in the league for opponent batting average this season (.231).

– The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 1st in the league for hits allowed this season (1044).

Chris’ Pick

I’m rolling with Milwaukee here. For my money, the Brewers have just been playing the better baseball as of late, and while Pittsburgh beating KC and St. Louis is all well and good, the Brewers are actually playing for a division title and Burnes is the staff ace, meaning these are the games where you need him to shine the most. I think he shows up here and the Brewers take care of business here.