Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/06/2026

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Thursday, August 6, 2026

Venue:  American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +118, Brewers -142; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +120, Brewers -145; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +120, Brewers -145; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Pittsburgh Pirates:  57-58 (3rd place, NL Central)

Milwaukee Brewers:  70-43 (1st place, NL Central)

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  4-6 last 10

Milwaukee Brewers:  6-4 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 57-58 record overall and have a road record of 28-30. This is the series finale of a 4-game series with the Brewers on Thursday with the 3rd game still to be played on Wednesday. The Pirates won the series opener on Monday and lost the 2nd game on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .748 OPS. Paul Skenes is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Braxton Ashcraft is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 11-4 with a 3.96 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 1 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 5 SO on 2 hits through 5 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 70-43 record overall and have a home record of 37-21. This is the 4th game of a 4-game series with the Pirates on Thursday with the 3rd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. The Brewers lost the 1st game of this series on Monday and won the 2nd game on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .735 OPS. Kyle Harrison is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Dustin May is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 5-7 with a 4.38 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts on 1 hit through 5 innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs.

The current betting odds have the Pirates listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Brewers have looked great in their games this season with their 70-43 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 37-21 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Pirates haven't looked great in their games this season with their 57-58 record overall which has them right in the middle of the NL Central. They haven't been a great road team either with their 28-30 road record this year. The Pirates are 4-6 in their last 10 games and haven't looked great lately while the Brewers are 6-4 in their last 10 games, but the Pirates still have one of the best offenses in the league this year and they are going to have the better pitching matchup too. The Pirates are going with Ashcraft in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 11-4 with a 3.96 ERA and the team has had a ton of success with him all season. They have won 2 games in a row now with him starting too and he is coming off a great start giving up 1 earned run which has been a common theme for him. The Brewers do have a great pitching staff, but they are going with May who they recently acquired right before the trade deadline. May hasn't looked great this season though, going 5-7 with a 4.38 ERA. He is coming off a great start in which he gave up no runs, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and his team has lost 4 of their last 5 games with him starting. The Pirates are still fighting for a Wild Card spot in the NL and this is a great opportunity for them with the better starter, so look for them to take advantage of that. The best way to place a bet here is on the Pirates to win this game. 

Pirates Brewers Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, August 6, 2026 (2:10 pm ET start time) is Pirates 6 Brewers 3.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 205-234 (-21.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 92-127 (-17.9 units) on the moneyline in road games. 65-78 (-12.8 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 48-21 UNDER on the road when the total is 7 to 7.5.

Milwaukee Brewers: 264-186 (+49 units) on the moneyline in all games. 139-88 (+20.8 units) on the moneyline in home games. 86-54 (+22 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 19-11 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:  J. Bauers (1B) Day To Day - Abdominal. 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.

"We need to get back to having consistent at-bats. Yesterday, we came up with the big hit. Today, we weren’t able to. That’s been a consistent thing. When we’ve gotten that big hit with runners in scoring position, we've scored runs." - Don Kelly after his team’s loss against the Brewers in their game on Tuesday.

“With us adding a starting pitcher, then you have to consider, ‘OK, who needs the work in Triple-A? Who needs to go down? Who can move to the ‘pen?’ You look at all of those options and [sending down Sproat] was the choice. It’s really about what’s best for the player, what’s best for the team. You combine those, and that’s what you come up with.” - Pat Murphy on sending Brandon Sproat to the minors.

Jake Mangum (S) CF

Brandon Lowe (L) DH

Bryan Reynolds (S) LF

Esmerlyn Valdez (R) RF

Spencer Horwitz (L) 1B

Nick Gonzales (R) 2B

Endy Rodríguez (S) C

Jacob Gonzalez (L) SS

Jared Triolo (R) 3B

Brice Turang (L) 2B

Jackson Chourio (R) LF

Garrett Mitchell (L) CF

William Contreras (R) C

Christian Yelich (L) DH

Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B

Luis Lara (S) RF

Cooper Pratt (R) SS

David Hamilton (L) 3B

Batting Average:  Nick Gonzales (.306)

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 (112)

Home Runs:  Jake Bauers (20)

RBI:  Brice Turang (69)

Stolen Bases:  David Hamilton (20)

Wins:  Aaron Ashby (12)

Saves:  Trevor Megill (19)

ERA:  Easton McGee (0.00)

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Don Kelly (2nd season)

Milwaukee Brewers: Pat Murphy (3rd season)