Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/17/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Milwaukee (-122) Pittsburgh (+102)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (75-76) will go up against the Milwaukee Brewers (94-57) at PNC Park on Thursday. The moneyline on this matchup has the Brewers at -122 while the Pirates open at +102. The over/under has been set at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Dustin May and Khristian Curtis.

Milwaukee has a slugging rate of .406 and have been called out on strikes 1,267 times, while taking a walk on 626 occasions. They have accumulated 739 RBI's in addition to 1,331 base knocks for the year, and their average at the plate sits at .259. The Brewers have earned 265 doubles as a team and have hit 146 balls out of the park. They have tallied 783 runs and have an on-base percentage of .342. As a unit, the Milwaukee Brewers are notching 5.2 runs per game, which has them at 2nd in baseball.

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The Brewers have compiled a team earned run average of 3.56 on the campaign (2nd in baseball), and the staff has rung up 1,443 hitters. Brewers pitchers have allowed 160 home runs and 584 runs (4th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 485 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 3.71 as a unit for the season. Milwaukee has relinquished 1,116 base hits (7.4 per 9 innings) in addition to 533 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.98 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.19.

The Brewers have dispatched 467 relievers to the hill on the season. The relief pitchers have inherited 173 base runners this season and 40.5% of them ended up scoring. The relief pitchers have 76 holds on the campaign (21st in the league). Brewers relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 119 times and also have had 145 appearances in high leverage situations. They have recorded 47 saves for the season and have blown 19 of 66 save opportunities. The Brewers bullpen have a save rate of 71.2% and have come into the game in 143 save situations.

The Milwaukee Brewers have earned 4,046 putouts thus far, as well as 1,180 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .987 which has them ranked 9th in the majors, and have accumulated 112 double plays. The Brewers have turned 71.0% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 12,138 innings on the diamond, ranking them 8th in pro baseball.

May has pitched in 353 innings and has earned 324 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.95 (155 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.209. He has allowed 303 hits (7.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 124 free passes. May (21-22 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 3.89 while he has gone up against 1,481 hitters in the major leagues.

The Pirates hold a team slugging % of .401 and they average 4.76 runs per outing (5th in the league). They have hit 224 two-baggers, while getting a free base 535 times as well as putting up 719 runs. Pittsburgh has knocked in 171 home runs on the campaign and 686 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 1,405 occasions (4th in the league) and have totaled 1,312 hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates have recorded a team on-base percentage of .330 and a batting average of .253 this season.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.301 with a FIP of 3.86 as a staff over the course of the season. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 9.20 (1,377 strikeouts vs 549 walks). They are sitting at 12th in baseball as a staff in total hits relinquished with 1,203. They have given up 145 home runs and they surrender 4.66 runs per 9 innings (20th in the league). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 697 runs so far this season while holding an ERA of 4.18 (626 earned runs conceded).

Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 32.3% of 186 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 144 times in high leverage situations and also on 126 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 130 save situations, the Pirates have recorded 71 holds and 23 blown saves. They are currently ranked 21st in MLB holding a save rate of 59.6%, and they have sent 490 relievers onto the diamond so far this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 124 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .983 (26th in pro baseball). The Pirates have recorded 1,200 assists, 92 errors and have a total of 4,042 putouts on the campaign. In 12,126 innings on the field, the Pirates are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 69.1% (25th in pro baseball).

During his MLB career, Curtis has surrendered 9 hits and he has 7 strikeouts in 14 innings. Curtis (1-0 record in his career) is the owner of a 5.14 earned run average while allowing 5.8 hits per nine innings. He has conceded a total of 8 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.214 and a FIP of 5.1. He has a K/BB ratio of 0.88 and he has faced 57 opposing hitters in his pro baseball career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Milwaukee (-122)

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