Milwaukee right-hander Quinn Priester will take on his former team for the first time when the Brewers continue their four-game series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon.
Priester (1-2, 4.66 ERA), a first-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2019, was traded last year to the Boston Red Sox, who sent him to the Brewers last month.
Priester, 24, has pitched better since surrendering seven runs in 4 1/3 innings of the Brewers’ 10-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 2. He began his latest outing on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles in the second but pitched a season-high 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two as Milwaukee won 5-4.
“We’ve seen flashes from Priester,” Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said recently. “There have been days he’s really good, and then there are days where you realize this kid is really young and still has work to do. Our pitching coaches are still really excited to have him. He’s a great kid with a great foundation.”
Milwaukee would love for Priester to be as efficient as possible on Saturday, as both clubs will look for length from their starters following a wild, 6-5 victory in 10 innings for the Pirates on Friday night.
The Brewers used four relievers and the Pirates six.
Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta’s start was his shortest of the season as he was pulled after 4 1/3 innings, during which he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks and struck out three.
After a month of futility, Pittsburgh’s offense has had two of its better games to open its series against the Brewers.
On Friday, Pittsburgh scored six runs — the most it had since April 22 — a day after snapping its streak of 26 games scoring four runs or less.
Oneil Cruz has played a big part in this mild offensive resurgence, hitting two solo homers Friday and also scoring twice and driving in a run on Thursday night.
“It always feels good to be able to do what I did (Friday), but especially to do it in front of our fans, that means a lot,” Cruz said during a post-game interview on the Pirates’ broadcast.
Pittsburgh right-hander Mitch Keller (1-6, 3.88 ERA) would love for that offense to continue to pick up momentum and produce some run support.
Keller is 0-6 in his past nine starts despite giving up three runs or less in seven of those outings. He surrendered two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out five over six innings in a 7-1 setback to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
Keller is 1-5 with a 5.44 ERA in nine career starts against Milwaukee. The Brewers’ William Contreras is hitting .313 with two home runs in 16 at-bats versus Keller, while Brice Turang has hit .364 with five RBIs in 11 career at-bats against him.
–Field Level Media
