Two NL Central rivals, one tight spread, and a prime-time riverfront backdrop. The Milwaukee Brewers visit the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park tonight, Saturday, September 6, 2025, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. ET. It’s Game 2 of a three-game set, and both clubs know these September meetings can swing a division race or a wild-card chase fast.
How to watch, stream, and listen
If you’re after the Pirates vs Brewers live stream, here’s the full viewing guide for Saturday night.
- TV (Regional): SportsNet PT (Pirates market) and Fox Sports Wisconsin/FDSWI (Brewers market). Pregame shows typically roll in the hour before first pitch, with full in-game analysis and postgame reactions.
- Streaming: Viewers in the teams’ home TV footprints can stream through platforms that carry these regional sports networks. A TV provider login may be required. Out-of-market fans can usually watch via league streaming services, subject to blackout rules. Mobile apps from the broadcasters mirror the TV feed for authenticated users. Real-time box scores and play-by-play will also be available through Fox Sports’ live game centers.
- Radio: TuneIn will carry the local radio call for in-market listeners, with an extended pregame at 3:40 p.m. ET. In Pittsburgh, Pirates games are typically on 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM). In Milwaukee, Brewers games are commonly on WTMJ 620 AM. Availability can vary outside each club’s market.
- Start time: 6:40 p.m. ET (5:40 p.m. CT).
PNC Park remains one of baseball’s best TV pictures—those camera angles over the Clemente Bridge are second to none. Expect a clean HD feed, tight replays on bang-bang plays at first, and a steady look at how defenses shift on Pittsburgh’s lefty bats.
What to know: form, players to watch, and odds
Pittsburgh shows up hot. The Pirates have gone 7–3 over their last 10, scoring 4.6 runs per game in that stretch while keeping opponents bottled up with a 2.66 team ERA and 9.2 strikeouts per nine. That’s the balance they’ve chased most of the year—enough traffic on the bases and a staff that limits the crooked numbers.
Bryan Reynolds remains the heartbeat of the order. He enters tonight with 70 RBIs and a .245 average, steady in the middle and comfortable hitting from both sides. Oneil Cruz brings the thump with a team-best 19 homers, the kind of top-of-the-zone bat speed that can turn a pitcher’s mistake into a quick two runs. Andrew McCutchen still finds the barrel, posting a .243 average with 21 doubles and 13 home runs, while Tommy Pham has chipped in a .264 average with 17 doubles and 8 homers—veteran at-bats that lengthen every inning.
Milwaukee, as usual, leans on run prevention and timely power. Their formula tends to be crisp defense, strike-throwing starters, and a bullpen that doesn’t give you three chances in the late innings. When the offense clicks, it’s often because table-setters are getting on and the heart of the order is hunting fastballs early in counts.
Keep an eye on a few Brewer regulars who shape their identity. Christian Yelich’s on-base ability can tilt pitch counts and kick-start rallies. William Contreras offers extra-base pop and catcher defense that steals strikes on the edges. Willy Adames is the tone-setter in the infield, both with the glove and the occasional pulled rocket into the seats. If Milwaukee strings together quality at-bats in the second and third trips through the order, they usually wear you down.
It’s a tough place to pitch if you miss arm-side. PNC Park punishes sloppy fastballs to right field, and that quirky notch in right-center turns routine doubles into races around the bases when the ball rattles around. Left-handed hitters with lift can pepper the Clemente Wall; right-handed hitters who go gap-to-gap can run forever if the outfielders over-commit. Winds off the Allegheny can also knock down high flies on cooler nights, so line-drive hitters often win here.
The lively part of this matchup is how each side handles the first time through the order. Pittsburgh has been aggressive early, jumping on hittable heaters. Milwaukee, on the other hand, often works deeper counts, forces you into secondary stuff, and makes infielders play clean. The inning to circle is the sixth—once managers face that third time through, both bullpens start hovering. Whichever side buys an extra three outs without a big swing usually takes control.
The Pirates’ recent surge rides on more than stick-and-ball luck. Their starters have attacked the zone, and the bullpen has pared down free passes. You can see it in the tempo: fewer three-ball counts, more grounders to the left side, and quick innings that keep the dugout engaged. If that holds, Reynolds and Cruz won’t need to do everything; a couple of timely singles from the bottom third could be the difference.
On the Brewers’ side, watch how they defend Cruz. Teams that quiet him keep the ball below the knees and off the inner third, then expand away. If he gets a fastball down and in, it’s loud. Milwaukee’s infield positioning against Reynolds will also be telling—shade up the middle with two strikes, or pinch the lines to cut off doubles? Those little moves decide whether a threatening inning ends with a handshake or a crooked number.
Basepaths matter tonight. Pittsburgh has mixed in opportunistic steals during this 10-game run, and Milwaukee is usually tidy controlling the running game. If the Pirates swipe an extra 90 feet or take an extra base on a looped single, they can flip leverage counts and force fastballs in hitter’s counts. Conversely, if the Brewers erase a runner with a quick pop-and-throw, it’ll calm the crowd and swing momentum.
As for the forecasted scoreboard, early projections call this a near coin toss tilt. Milwaukee is a slight favorite, with win probabilities hovering around 53% for the Brewers and 47% for the Pirates. The total is projected to push past 8 runs, with a model scoreline around Brewers 5, Pirates 4. That tracks with the ballpark and both clubs’ recent patterns—some traffic, a middle-innings swing, and a tight finish. It’s not betting advice; it’s a reminder you’re probably getting a one- or two-run game into the ninth.
One more note on the broadcast: for streamers inside the local TV territories, blackout rules apply. If you’re traveling or living outside the Pirates’ or Brewers’ markets, you’ll have more flexibility. Either way, lock in early—the radio pregame fires up at 3:40 p.m. ET on TuneIn, and the TV crews will dig into lineups, matchups, and any late scratches about an hour before the 6:40 p.m. ET first pitch.
It’s September baseball in Pittsburgh. The skyline will glow, the wall in right will lure pull hitters, and every mound visit will feel a little heavier. The team that wins the two-strike battles and cashes in a runner at third with less than two outs is going to walk out with a series grip and a quieter flight to Sunday’s rubber match.
