(Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)

Sunday's series finale was slated to feature a marquee matchup on the mound when the Milwaukee Brewers face the host Pittsburgh Pirates before the league pauses for its midseason showcase.

The Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski was originally scheduled to get the nod against fellow ace right-hander Paul Skenes and the Pirates. But Misiorowski will instead sit out not only Sunday's contest but also Tuesday's All-Star Game in Philadelphia with arm fatigue.

'It (stinks) to miss a start and the All-Star Game, but I know it's the right thing to do in this situation,' the 24-year-old said. 'My arm is a little tired.'

Misiorowski has thrown a major-league high 670 pitches at 100 mph or faster and leads all starting pitchers this season with a 100.5 mph average velocity on a four-seam fastball. He expects to be ready to go when the schedule resumes next Friday.

'He didn't recover well from his last start, and his throwing program was clunky today, so we're just going to give him some extra rest,' Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said Saturday after his team was swept by Pittsburgh in a doubleheader.

Left-hander Robert Gasser (2-3, 4.15 ERA) will get the start instead. It'll be his second career start against the Pirates. He won his previous outing, surrendering one run on six hits in five innings of a 10-2 victory on May 15, 2024.

The Brewers will be looking to avoid getting swept in the three-game series. They held a 6-3 lead in the opener of the doubleheader before Pittsburgh's Esmerlyn Valdez mashed a grand slam to lift the hosts to the win.

Milwaukee erased a two-run deficit to tie the second game but ultimately fell 3-2, with the Pirates getting the go-ahead run in the sixth.

'We didn't come through with the big hit the way we have,' Murphy said. '... Pittsburgh did everything right. They deserved every bit.'

The Pirates will be looking to sweep a series for the fourth time this season and the first since taking all three games against the Minnesota Twins on May 29-31.

'Two huge wins and two different ways that we accomplish that today,' Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said.

Valdez was key to those victories. His game-winning homer in the opener was one of two blasts in that contest and three on the day overall as he finished the doubleheader with eight RBIs.

He's batting .311 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs in 27 games since getting called up for his major league debut in May.

'He's a hitter,' Kelly said of Valdez. 'He's not going up there swinging for the fences. He's taken some big walks, he works the count, gets deeper in counts and finds ways to get big hits.'

Skenes (7-8, 3.58) is coming off a bounce-back quality start in his last outing. The 24-year-old held the visiting Atlanta Braves to two runs on eight hits in six innings of a 12-4 Pittsburgh win on Tuesday. It was a welcome result after he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on six hits in four innings of a 10-6 road defeat against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 1.

Skenes has fared well in his five career starts against the Brewers, going 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA.

--Field Level Media