Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates

After getting an assist from Jesus and Mother Nature for their first series win in St. Louis since 2014, the Brewers head to Pittsburgh for what could be another rain-shortened series. As of now, the Weather Channel is predicting a significant chance of rain tonight, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon.

The Pirates might be hoping for a weekend off, as they come in scuffling. At -19, they have the worst run differential in the NL Central and the last place standing to match. They're coming off of losing 3 of 4 to the Reds and have largely been ineffective with the bats, especially since the PED suspension of Starling Marte.

Josh Harrison (.305/.380/.516) is the only Buc regular who is really hitting after a full month's worth of games. Andrew McCutchen is hitting .235/.319/.431, but is carrying a Domingo Santana-like .244 BABIP. Infamous Brewer Killer David Freese is hitting .321/.418/.536 in 18 games, but has been on the disabled list with a strained hamstring all week.

Probable Starters

Friday, 6:05 p.m. CDT, FS Wisconsin - Jimmy Nelson vs. Chad Kuhl

Kuhl was hit in the knee by a Dee Gordon line drive in his last start and had to leave the game after pitching just 4 innings. He comes into this start carrying an ugly 6.26 ERA, but that number is deceptively high after he was left out to die on the mound in his April 24th start against the Cubs, when he went only 1.2 innings and gave up 9 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks. In every other start this season, Kuhl has allowed 2 earned runs or less. He made two starts against the Brewers last year, and both games resulted in Pittsburgh wins at Miller Park, with Kuhl being charged with just 3 earned runs in 12.1 innings.

Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images

Saturday, 6:05 p.m. CDT, FS Wisconsin - Matt Garza vs. Gerrit Cole

A matchup of two people who may have legitimate anger management problems. After a rough start on Opening Day (5 ER in 5 IP), Cole has settled back down into his role as the anchor of the Pirates rotation. Since that outing, he's turned in 5 consecutive quality starts and a 2.61 ERA over 31 innings. If there's good news for the Brewers, it's that Cole has been more susceptible to the home run so far this year than previous seasons. He's already allowed 6 homers in 36 innings after allowing 7 all of last season.

Sunday, 12:35 p.m. CDT, FS Wisconsin - Zach Davies vs. Tyler Glasnow

Glasnow is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, but has struggled mightily with his control in his limited big league action. He came into this season ranking 9th in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, but has walked (17) nearly as many as he's struck out (22) in 20.2 innings so far this year. The stuff is legit, but at this point it doesn't seem like he knows where the pitches are going. Naturally, you could see the Brewers either teeing off on him or getting shut out over 7 innings -- sort of like their two games against St. Louis' Carlos Martinez have gone this season. To Glasnow's credit, he is coming off of a solid start (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) against the Reds.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference