It's starting to feel like the Milwaukee Brewers are invincible. They can do no wrong after shellacking their last-place division rival Pittsburgh Pirates — with ace Paul Skenes on the mound — again. If he can't stop the excruciatingly hot MLB-best club, then who will?
Skene's day was over after four innings for a second consecutive appearance in Milwaukee. American Family Field has not been a warm, cozy home it sounds like to the clear-cut 2025 National League Cy Young betting favorite. He's allowed four-plus runs in only four of his 25 starts this season, with two of them occurring at this ballpark. This Brewers lineup is incredibly dangerous, in case it wasn't already clear, shelling perhaps the most unhittable pitcher in baseball twice in as many meetings.
Paul Skenes is done after 4 IP for the second-straight start in Milwaukee.
— Stephen Watson (@SWatsonTV) August 13, 2025
His ERA at American Family Field this season: 9.00 (8 IP, 8 ER)
In his last 9 starts this year, he’s allowed 14 total runs. The Brewers are responsible for 8 of those 14 runs.
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Brewers being Paul Skenes' kryptonite certifies them as MLB's top offense
Following Skenes' latest rough outing on the road versus the Brewers, his ERA in Milwaukee ballooned to 9.00, per Stephen Watson of ESPN Milwaukee. He boasts a one-to-one inning-to-earned-run ratio at American Family Field, which is extremely uncharacteristic for him. What else must anyone doubting the NL Central leaders see at this point?
The Brewers don't kill you with the long ball, ranking in the bottom-half of the league in collective home runs this year. It's death by 1,000 cuts with them; they hit for contact and value base running. Milwaukee is second in stole bases (130) and batting average (.250) and third on-base percentage (.331) but 14th in slugging percentage (.405).
However, as we've seen in their last pair of encounters against Skenes, the Brewers can put opponents out of their misery with four-baggers. Five players went yard in their 14-0 drubbing of the Pirates, and two of them did so off the Majors' current ERA king. Outfielder Sal Frelick kicked things off with a leadoff homer before second baseman Brice Turang took him for a ride in the third.
Moments like this make Milwaukee's "team of destiny" vibes impossible to ignore. Dismantling the Pirates brought them to 11 straight victories. They're one of only 10 squads in the Divisional Era to go on multiple double-digit winning streaks in the same season.