Pregame: OK, so what if the Pirates actually had a bounce house …

MILWAUKEE — What else would you do if you saw a bounce house?

After Friday’s 6-0 Pirates victory, where Paul Skenes delivered seven shutout innings and allowed just one hit, where Konnor Griffin hit his first MLB home run on his 20th birthday, Skenes had all of us laughing when he said players toyed with the idea of renting a bounce house for the rookie.

A day later, I decided to ask Pirates manager Kelly what he would’ve done if Pirates players had actually followed through on the idea.

“Maybe jumped in it?” Kelly said. “Ask Konnor if I could get in.”

It certainly would have been entertaining to see Kelly bouncing around in his socks, but there’s a serious part of this, too.

Vibes are sky high with the Pirates right now, thanks to their 15-11 record and the chemistry that exists within the clubhouse.

We’ve seen the ongoing battle between Skenes and Jake Mangum over a birthday cake the outfielder may or may not have ordered for himself. (Mangum did not, but it’s funny to pretend that he did.)

Then you have the cone, the welder’s hood, pitching coach Bill Murphy taping tickets in players’ lockers and so much more. There’s a togetherness that didn’t exist before, a sense of fun that hardly feels fake or force.

“The guys are enjoying themselves,” Kelly said. “They’re competing well, pulling for each other and with each other to show up every single day.”

The Pirates have another tough one Saturday, as they’ll face Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who has produced 42 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings.

This will be the sixth start of the season for Misiorowski, who’s 1-2 with a 3.04 ERA. As a team, the Pirates are just two for 23 (.087) against the 2025 MLB All-Star.

“We all know he has the elite fastball velocity,” Kelly said. “In order to hit that, you have to get it down in the zone.You can’t be expanding up. He’s got a great arm. He’s a great pitcher. Having seen him before will help some of our guys, but you’re still talking about a guy who can really throw it.”

Misiorowski also presents a problem at American Family Field, where he’s 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) compared to 2-5 with a 4.99 ERA in nine road starts.

It’ll be a challenge for Pirates hitters because of Misiorowski’s elite velocity. He throws his four-seamer on average 98.8 mph, which puts him in the 98th percentile in MLB. He’s also in the 98th percentile when it comes to whiff rate (39.3%) and strikeout rate (37.8%).

In addition to heat, Misiorowski also throws a slider, curveball and changeup. The breaking balls have been especially nasty, with Misiorowski producing a .136 batting average against with his slider, .118 with the curveball.

Here’s how the Pirates lineup will look:

Oneil Cruz, CF
Brandon Lowe, 2B
Bryan Reynolds, RF
Ryan O’Hearn, DH
Nick Gonzales, 3B
Spencer Horwitz, 1B
Jake Mangum, LF
Konnor Griffin, SS
Henry Davis, C

One news item from pregame: The Pirates placed Braxton Ashcraft on the bereavement list and recalled Cam Sanders from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Ashcraft isn’t expected to miss his next scheduled start, Kelly said. But it sounds like that may not come Monday against the Cardinals. With no off-day, that would theoretically mean a bullpen day could be in play to start the homestand.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.