Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/05/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Venue:  American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +104, Brewers -126; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +105, Brewers -125; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +105, Brewers -125; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Pittsburgh Pirates:  57-57 (3rd place, NL Central)

Milwaukee Brewers:  69-43 (1st place, NL Central)

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  4-6 last 10

Milwaukee Brewers:  5-5 last 10

The Pirates are entering this series off a loss and lost their 4-game series against the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-57 record overall and have a road record of 28-29. This is the 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Brewers on Wednesday with the 2nd game still to be played on Tuesday. The Pirates won the series opener on Monday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .749 OPS. Jared Jones is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Paul Skenes is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 5 ER, 2 HR, and 4 BB with 7 SO on 7 hits through 4 IP against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Brewers are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 69-43 record overall and have a home record of 36-21. This is the 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Pirates on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. The Brewers lost the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .734 OPS. Logan Henderson is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Kyle Harrison is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 1 homer, and 0 walks with 2 strikeouts on 4 hits through 4 innings pitched against the St Louis Cardinals.

The current betting odds have the Brewers listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Brewers have looked great in their games this season with their 69-43 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL Central with one of the best records in MLB. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 36-21 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Pirates haven't looked great in their games this season with their 57-57 record overall which has them right in the middle of the NL Central. They haven't been a great road team either with their 28-29 road record this year. The Brewers are 5-5 in their last 10 games and haven't been at their best lately, but the Pirates are 4-6 in their last 10 games and haven't looked any better. The Pirates do have one of the best offenses in MLB, but the Brewers aren't far behind. The pitching has also been terrible for the Pirates this season and the Brewers are going to have the better matchup here. The Brewers are going with Harrison in this one and he has looked great all season. He is 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs at all. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start and the team has lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and he will be looking to pitch better coming back from his injury. The Pirates are going with Skenes in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA, but the team has been having a lot of trouble with him this year. He is supposed to be their ace and he hasn't even been the best starter in their rotation. He is coming off another bad start in which he gave up 5 earned runs and the team has lost 2 games in a row now with him starting, something that has been a common theme for him this season. Look for the Brewers to take advantage of this pitching matchup with Skenes not at his best lately. The best way to place a bet here is on the Brewers to win this game. 

Pirates Brewers Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, August 5, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Brewers 6 Pirates 2.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 205-233 (-20.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 92-126 (-16.9 units) on the moneyline in road games. 65-77 (-11.8 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 37-25 UNDER vs. a starting pitcher whose lasts less than 5 innings per start.

Milwaukee Brewers: 263-186 (+48 units) on the moneyline in all games. 138-88 (+19.8 units) on the moneyline in home games. 85-54 (+21 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 18-11 UNDER against division opponents.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  M. Keller (SP) Sixty Day IL - Arm. R. O'Hearn (RF) Ten Day IL - Quad. O. Cruz (CF) Sixty Day IL - Hand. K. Griffin (SS) Sixty Day IL - Finger. E. Sisk (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. C. Devenski (RP) Sixty Day IL - Illness.

Milwaukee Brewers:  S. Frelick (RF) Ten Day IL - Shoulder. J. Romero (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Appendix. R. Zastryzny (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. B. Woodruff (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. K. Harrison (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Forearm. J. Kuhnel (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. Q. Priester (SP) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. B. Fitzpatrick (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Zerpa (RP) Sixty Day IL - Forearm.

"He's handling the emotions extremely well, finding a way. Early on when he would lose it arm side, it would start to snowball a little bit. Looks like he's he's maturing and starting to figure out how to get back in the zone and dial it back to get back in the strike zone, which is a big part of learning how to pitch in the big leagues." - Don Kelly on Bubba Chandler after his team’s win against the Brewers in their game on Monday.

“This kid has been better than Corbin was in ‘19, and look what Corbin turned into. I’m not going to suggest that he’s going to turn into Corbin next year, but there’s a lot there.” - Pat Murphy on Brandon Sproat after his team’s loss against the Pirates in their game on Monday. 

Jake Mangum (S) CF

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Bryan Reynolds (S) LF

Esmerlyn Valdez (R) RF

Spencer Horwitz (L) DH

Nick Gonzales (R) 3B

Endy Rodríguez (S) 1B

Jacob Gonzalez (L) SS

Henry Davis (R) C

Brice Turang (L) 2B

Jackson Chourio (R) LF

Christian Yelich (L) DH

William Contreras (R) C

Jake Bauers (L) RF

Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B

Garrett Mitchell (L) CF

David Hamilton (L) 3B

Joey Ortiz (R) SS

Batting Average:  Nick Gonzales (.309)

Hits:  Nick Gonzales (127)

Home Runs:  Brandon Lowe (23)

RBI:  Brandon Lowe (71)

Stolen Bases:  Oneil Cruz (21)

Wins:  Braxton Ashcraft (11)

Saves:  Gregory Soto (14)

ERA:  Khristian Curtis (0.00)

Batting Average:  Tyler Black (.333)

Hits:  Brice Turang (111)

Home Runs:  Jake Bauers (20)

RBI:  Brice Turang (69)

Stolen Bases:  David Hamilton (20)

Wins:  Aaron Ashby (12)

Saves:  Trevor Megill (18)

ERA:  Easton McGee (0.00)

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Don Kelly (2nd season)

Milwaukee Brewers: Pat Murphy (3rd season)