Brewers at Pirates
The Milwaukee Brewers have won 11 of their 15 encounters against the Pittsburgh Pirates despite outscoring their National League Central rival by just 11 runs this season. The visiting Brewers hope to have a rested Christian Yelich return to the lineup on Wednesday as they bid to complete a three-game sweep of the Pirates.
Yelich belted a pair of solo homers to highlight his four-hit performance in Monday's 9-7 victory before sitting out the following night as the team manages his nagging back injury. Yasmani Grandal picked up the slack in the absence of the reigning NL Most Valuable Player and ended a frustrating 1-for-19 stretch with a pair of doubles and an RBI in Milwaukee's 4-3 win on Tuesday. Speaking of frustrating, Pittsburgh has lost four in a row and sports a 4-20 mark since the All-Star break to plummet 17 games below .500 for the first time since the 2011 season. Jose Osuna has been playing well, however, going 11-for-23 with eight extra-base hits (five doubles, three homers), nine RBIs and six runs scored in his last nine contests.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers TBD vs. Pirates RH Trevor Williams (4-4, 4.75)
Milwaukee plans to utilize a bullpen day in the series finale, with manager Craig Counsell telling reporters that "it's going to be unplanned, unscripted, more so than in the past." The decision comes on the heels of the Brewers placing right-hander Zach Davies on the 10-day injured list with back spasms on Monday. Right-hander Jake Faria (0-0, 2.25 ERA), who was summoned from Triple-A San Antonio, is likely to be involved in the series finale after working just one scoreless inning on Saturday.
Williams posted his first win in over a month on Friday after avenging a hard-luck loss to the Mets in his previous outing with a quality start in an 8-4 victory over New York. The 27-year-old will get his first look at Milwaukee after recording a 3-0 mark with 21 strikeouts over 19 scoreless innings in three trips to the mound versus the club in 2018. Williams has flustered Yelich (1-for-11, three strikeouts), Travis Shaw (0-for-11, seven strikeouts) and Ryan Braun (1-for-10, four strikeouts), although Orlando Arcia (4-for-12, two doubles) has made an impact against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pittsburgh 2B Adam Frazier is hitless in eight at-bats in the series and 2-for-27 in his last seven games overall.
2. Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain's availability is in question after he fouled a pitch off his left leg near his kneecap in the first inning on Tuesday.
3. Struggling Pittsburgh 1B Josh Bell will receive a second straight day off on Wednesday as a means to "brighten his eyes when we get to St. Louis," per manager Clint Hurdle.