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.
#innings
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.
#innings
3 months ago