Pregame: The grind continues for Pirates while eying potential series sweep in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — There was a sense of opportunity when the Pirates arrived in Milwaukee Friday for a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

They were coming off a frustrating, 6-1 defeat to the Rangers and a series loss in Arlington, Texas. However, the Pirates have played some of their best baseball against NL Central clubs, taking series in Cincinnati (March 30-April 1) and Chicago (April 10-12) the past few weeks.

They took care of business on Saturday night, using some timely hitting from Nick Gonzales and excellent work from the bullpen to secure a 6-3 victory over the Brewers in 10 innings, and there’s a chance to take that even further on Sunday.

The Pirates have not swept a series in Milwaukee since Aug. 25-28, 2016. They’ve done it just four times since this building opened in 2001.

“Talking about the team and the way they’ve rebounded from certain things … to win this series is really important,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “We need to continue to do that.”

Pittsburgh has won each of its first three series against NL Central goes for the just the third time since 1994 and the first time since 2018 (when it won the first four). With a win Sunday, the Pirates can match their number of road wins (seven) against the division from all of 2025.

Just don’t tell Kelly and his team to start celebrating anything. We’re a long way from that.

“We’ve stressed that every game matters,” Kelly said. “I’ve been really proud of the guys for that. Regardless of what has happened in prior games, we’ve continued to compete really well.”

It’s a bounce-back opportunity for Sunday start Carmen Mlodzinski. He lost a 5-1 decision Tuesday after allowing a career-high-tying five runs and striking out six over 4 1/3 innings.

Mlodzinski actually made his MLB debut in this ballpark back on June 16, 2023 and earned his first win against the Brewers with two scoreless innings relief against the Brewers June 30, 2023 at PNC Park.

This will be the first career start against the Brewers for Mlodzinski, who is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 12 career relief appearances against them.

On the opposite side, lefty Kyle Harrison will get the ball for the Brewers. He’s 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA but has struggled a bunch against left-handed hitters, those types posting a .921 OPS against him this season.

It could be a good matchup for the Pirates, who have 10 home runs against lefties this season (tied for seventh in Major League Baseball). Oneil Cruz’s 26 total bases when facing southpaws are tied for the second-most in MLB.

“That’s a really good team, and they know what they're doing,” Nick Gonzales said. “They play really good baseball, but we’re a good team as well.

“We have to keep proving that to ourselves and to the league.”

Keep an eye on Gonzales, who’s hitting .458 (11 for 24) with three RBIs and four runs during a six-game hitting streak. He’s a .328 (19 for 58) career hitter in this ballpark, the fourth-best average among all active Major Leaguers at this venue (minimum: 50 at-bats).

Gonzales collected three hits Saturday, while the bullpen blanked the Brewers. It was just the fifth time this century Pirates relievers have recorded at least five scoreless innings with one or zero hits allowed during an extra-innings victory.

The Pirates will need all of that to click to continue handling their business against the NL Central.

“We need to keep earning it,” Kelly said. “It’s a daily thing. That’s something I don’t want to feel and I don’t want the guys to feel. We certainly haven’t made it. We need to keep grinding it out, getting after it and continue to earn that respect every day.”

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