Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (69-43) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-57)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 28: Logan Henderson #43 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

After a bit of a dud on Monday night, the Brewers will, for the third day in a row, go for their 70th win tonight as they attempt to even this four-game series against Pittsburgh at one game apiece. With a 6-1 record, the Pirates have had Milwaukee’s number this season, a stark change over the modern history in this divisional rivalry; over the last 20 years, the Brewers have an overall record of 194-126 against the Buccos.

Tonight’s pitching matchup features two bright young stars, both 24 years old, though not the first two who might come to mind when considering these two teams. For the Brewers, Logan Henderson—still a Brewer after many a speculative fan had linked him to a Tarik Skubal trade before the deadline yesterday—gets the nod, while the Pirates send Jared Jones.

By rate stats, Henderson has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. A back injury has limited his innings, but this will be his fifth start since missing about a month and a half between late May and early July. In the nine starts that Henderson has made, he’s pitched to a 2.66 ERA and 2.80 FIP, a 0.909 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts to just 1.8 walks per nine innings. You’d expect that the league will adjust to Henderson at some point, and he’s averaged less than five innings per start this season, but in his limited sample as a big leaguer he’s been outstanding.

Jones, who is right-handed and a few months older than Henderson, is back on track after missing all of the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. Jones, who was a top-100 prospect prior to his debut in 2024, has pitched to a 3.81 ERA and 3.48 FIP in 52 innings across 11 starts this season with impressive peripheral numbers of his own (10 K/9, 2.6 BB/9). In contrast to Henderson, and like last night’s starter, Bubba Chandler, Jones is a high velocity guy; his 98.4 average fastball velocity is in the top five percent of the league. Jones relies heavily on that fastball but gets a ton of whiffs with the slider he plays off of it. Jones is primarily a fastball/slider pitcher but mixes in a changeup every now and then and, a few times a game, a curveball.

With yesterday’s trades, the Brewers have made some adjustments to their roster. Garrett Stallings’ heroic outing on Monday night was rewarded with a demotion to Triple-A Nashville (life is tough for fringey pitchers), but the headline—not unexpected—is that Brandon Sproat will join him there.

We've made the following moves pic.twitter.com/ienMlSRxDB

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 4, 2026

NOTE/UPDATE: Jake Bauers was a late scratch with abdominal soreness, which invalidates what I wrote below, because Christian Yelich is, instead of batting seventh, batting fifth instead. But I’m going to leave what I wrote initially, because the intention of batting Yelich seventh does matter.

There’s also a notable change in the lineup: Christian Yelich has been dropped to seventh, the first time all season he’s hit below the five spot in the batting order; a quick scan of game logs tells me that it’s the first time that Yelich has started a game below the fifth spot in the batting order since 2015, when he was on the Marlins and playing in his second full season. Pat Murphy had some thoughts on the move:

Pat Murphy had a conversation with Christian Yelich about bumping him down to 7th in the lineup. Here’s what he said about the decision: pic.twitter.com/SqEHkOQRcx

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) August 4, 2026

With the move down in the order from Yelich, lefties Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell move up to third and fifth, respectively. Brice Turang leads off tonight, and the rest of the lineup consists of Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt, and David Hamilton. Note: the updated lineup has Andrew Vaughn in for Bauers, batting sixth.

Of note for the Pirates: the three pitchers they acquired yesterday, Luke Weaver, Lake Bachar, and Kirby Yates, have all been activated and will be available tonight.

First pitch tonight is at 6:40 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

Tuesday night ball game 🔜 📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm 📻: WTMJ pic.twitter.com/L79hNAJ9Zw

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 4, 2026

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →