MILWAUKEE -- Twenty-four hours and a few big moves later, not much changed for the Pirates.
Once again they struggled against Brewers pitching, this time against arch nemesis Kyle Harrison, as they dropped another 4-2 decision to Milwaukee at American Family Field, unable to rally behind Paul Skenes.
Earlier in the day, the Pirates released Marcell Ozuna, cutting ties with their $12 million designated hitter. They also made the rare choice of pairing Endy Rodríguez with Skenes.
The results were almost identical to Tuesday. Pirates hitters struck out 14 times, and neither Skenes nor Pittsburgh’s offense had the breakout night each has been eying.
“[Harrison] attacks the strike zone,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I looked up at one point, he was around 70% first-pitch strikes. We need to be ready for that fastball. He was throwing the breaking ball in early as well, which makes it tough. We need to be more prepared early in the count to be aggressive when he puts it in there.”
Pittsburgh (57-59) has dropped 12 of 19 since the All-Star break while totaling just 70 runs scored, an average of 3.7 per game. Over the first 97 contest in 2026, the Pirates averaged 5.3 runs.
Harrison was dominant against the Pirates, repeating what he did to them on April 26 (six shutout innings, 12 strikeouts). Harrison didn’t need much more than his four-seam fastball and slurve, which he threw a combined 90% of the time.
The left-hander punched out 10 Pirates in five scoreless frames, allowing one hit and one walk. Harrison finished his outing with eight consecutive strikeouts, the second-longest such run in Brewers history.
In three career outings against the Pirates, Harrison — who left the game with cramping in both calves — has now struck out 29 of the 58 batters he’s faced (50%). On the season, the Pirates lead the Majors with 1,101 strikeouts.
“His stuff was really, really good,” Kelly said. “Endy had a huge home run late, got us within two. We just couldn’t find a way to get over the hump.”
After walking the first batter of the game, second baseman Brice Turang, Skenes settled into a groove and retired 10 in a row, half of those via strikeout. But walk issues plagued Skenes during an elongated fourth.
The trouble started with a pair of one-out walks issued to center fielder Garrett Mitchell and catcher William Contreras. Designated hitter Christian Yelich, who was hitting just .172 over his past 33, gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead with his double to right.
Skenes didn’t leave the pitch over the middle of the plate. It was a 3-1 slider down and in. But Yelich did damage with it anyway.
It was a similar location for first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who drove in two more with his single in the next at-bat. Vaughn grounded a fastball to right.
Although he finished with six strikeouts and 16 whiffs, Wednesday marked the second consecutive start where Skenes has issued four walks. On the season, Skenes is issuing 2.50 walks per nine innings compared to a mark of 2.01 last season.
“You can’t walk guys,” Skenes said. “Probably tried to be a little too perfect at times, then you put yourself in those positions, kind of open yourself up to a hit. It’s just not where you need to be, not where you want to be.”
By allowing three earned runs in five innings, Skenes saw his ERA rise to 3.96 in 24 starts. That number is 6.25 since July 1.
As you assess areas where the Pirates must improve, examine how Pittsburgh’s other starters have fared since July 1:
• Mitch Keller, 7.17 ERA
• Braxton Ashcraft, 6.57
• Bubba Chandler, 4.01
• Jared Jones, 2.61
• Carmen Mlodzinski (potentially), 2.08
Along with the offense, that group has to be better.
Lake Bachar followed Skenes and gave up a homer to Contreras. Evan Sisk pitched a clean eighth. Each struck out two.
Along with Skenes and the offense needing to rebound, another storyline from this one was Rodríguez catching Skenes for the first time since April 2025, snapping a stretch of 51 consecutive Skenes starts with Henry Davis behind the plate.
There were a few hiccups, like a wild pitch in the first that let Turang move up 90 feet. Rodríguez also delivered a wild throw when Mitchell stole second in the fourth.
Yelich stole on Rodríguez (and Bachar) in the seventh, and the Pirates were later charged with another wild pitch, allowing Yelich to get to third. Overall, the Brewers stole three bases on Rodríguez.
The Pirates catcher did make up for it with his two-run homer in the seventh inning, cutting the Brewers’ lead to 4-2.
After starting the season two for 22 against left-handed pitching, Rodríguez connected on a full-count fastball located middle-in from Brewers reliever DL Hall.
“He’s been swinging the bat really well from the left side,” Kelly said. “He’s been a big part of the offense.”
An offense the Pirates badly need to revert back to its first-half form.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.