Brewers sellout for Paul Skenes-Jacob Misiorowski hit Pirates fans with sad reality

The phrases "midday game in June" and "sellout crowd" might sound antithetical, but Wednesday's matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers was no ordinary contest.

The matchup – which featured an all-time pitching duel between Brewers rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski and Pirates ace and reigning National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes – proved to be the hottest ticket in town, with Misiorowski throwing the first pitch of the game at 1:11 p.m. in front of a packed crowd of 42,000-plus spectators at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

In what's sure to be a heated rivalry between two bright young stars in the National League Central division, round one went to the flame-throwing rookie in Milwaukee. Misiorowski stifled the Pirates' offense (such as it is) with his triple-digit fastball, while Skenes got roughed up for four runs in the second inning of a 4-2 Pirates loss.

But there was another, arguably even more bleak, reason that Wednesday's loss was so disappointing for the Pirates.

Brewers sellout crowd for Paul Skenes-Jacob Misiorowski hit Pirates fans with sad reality

Wednesday's contest was the most-attended game at American Family Field this season and Milwaukee's fifth sellout of the year. On a Wednesday. During the day. In June.

The massive turnout was appropriate given the magnitude of the pitcher's duel on display, but it was a stark contrast to any of the other crowds Pittsburgh has drawn this season when Skenes is on the mound.

According to Baseball Reference, the Pirates are averaging 17,949 fans per game in 2025. That's the fifth-lowest attendance in the Majors this season, which is really the third-lowest if you consider the fact that two teams – the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays – are playing in minor league ballparks that can only hold about 11,000 fans.

Year after year, the Pirates have found themselves in the bottom-third of the league in attendance: 21,239 in 2024 (25th), 20,131 in 2023 (25th), 15,524 in 2022 (27th) and 10,611 in 2021 (25th). If you ask team president Travis Williams, he'll probably blame the bad weather in Pittsburgh. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a meteorologist) to see that the real reason that the Pirates can't draw crowds is because they have been the worst team in baseball for 25 years.

If you build it, they will come. But Pirates are showing now urgency to build a competitive team around Skenes, so no one is coming to PNC Park.

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