Brewers Near Division Clinch Entering Pirates Series

The Milwaukee Brewers, MLB’s top team at 93-57, open a three-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday with a chance to clinch their fourth consecutive NL Central title. Milwaukee needs two wins, or a combination of Brewers victories and Chicago Cubs losses totaling two, while also trying to maintain its lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League’s best record and a potential first-round bye. The Brewers will start Cy Young Award frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski, who leads the league with a 1.95 ERA and 236 strikeouts, while Pittsburgh is expected to use a bullpen game led by Lake Bachar. The Pirates are 75-75 and 6½ games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, leaving them focused largely on finishing the season at or above .500. Pittsburgh leads the season series 6-4, but Milwaukee has the stronger overall offense and road record heading into the matchup.