Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers VS Pittsburgh Pirates 2025-05-23

The battle of the not-so-mighty: the Milwaukee Brewers (24-26) take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (17-33) at PNC Park. Because who doesn't love a good matchup between two teams that are, shall we say, still finding their footing?

The Pirates are -126 moneyline favorites, which is hilarious considering they've won only 31.2% of games they were favored in. That's like being the favorite to win a participation trophy. Meanwhile, the Brewers have won 28% of games as underdogs, which isn't great, but hey, at least they're consistent.

Paul Skenes will start for the Pirates, boasting a 2.44 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings pitched. Not bad, kid. On the other hand, Freddy Peralta will pitch for the Brewers, with a 2.59 ERA and a 5-2 record. Rhys Hoskins leads the Brewers in home runs (seven), runs batted in (27), and batting average (.300), because someone has to carry this team.

Given the Pirates' struggles as favorites and the Brewers' decent offense (14th in the league with 212 runs), I'm going to take a chance on the underdog. My best bet is the Brewers +1.5 runs at +180 odds. Why not? It's not like the Pirates are going to run away with this one. The over/under is set at 7.0, but I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole. This game could go either way, but I'm hoping the Brewers can keep it close and make me look like a genius.

So, there you have it. Brewers +1.5 runs at +180 odds. Don't @ me.

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