Milwaukee @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 12, 2018 ) Milwaukee 3, Pittsburgh 6

If the Milwaukee Brewers don’t end up winning the National League Central, their performance within the division might end up being to blame. The Brewers will try to reverse their struggles against division rivals when they continue a five-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

The Pirates beat the Brewers 6-3 in Thursday’s series opener, improving to 4-2 against first-place Milwaukee this season. Pittsburgh has won four of five following a five-game skid with each win coming by three runs or fewer. The Brewers dropped to 19-21 within the division and saw their lead over the Chicago Cubs shrink to one game. Milwaukee has dropped three of four on its current road trip.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Dish455 (Milwaukee), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), AT&T SportsNet - Pittsburgh

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Junior Guerra (6-5, 2.79 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Nick Kingham (3-4, 4.26)

The late-blooming Guerra has returned to the strong form he displayed in 2016. The 33-year-old Venezuelan has won his last three starts and allowed only one run over 11 innings across his last two outings. Guerra is 1-1 with a 3.44 ERA in eight games (six starts) against the Pirates, who tagged him for five runs in five innings in a loss May 4 in Milwaukee.

Kingham came back from his worst outing of the season to shut down Philadelphia on Sunday. The 26-year-old rookie held the Phillies to one run and four hits over six innings to earn his first win since May 4 at Milwaukee. Kingham won his first start against the Brewers despite allowing four runs - and two home runs - in 5 1/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates CF Starling Marte, who is 7-for-14 versus Guerra, is 14-for-31 with seven RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

2. Milwaukee All-Star 1B Jesus Aguilar hit his NL-leading 24th home run Thursday and is 10-for-27 with three doubles, five homers, and 12 RBIs over his past seven games.

3. The Pirates have 11 stolen bases in their last six games and have been successful in 18 of their last 20 steal attempts.

PREDICTION: Brewers 6, Pirates 4