Kyle Harrison Drops Career-Best Start for Brewers

Apr 26, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (52) reacts after pitching six scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Kyle Harrison Drops Career-Best Start for Brewers

Originally posted on Milwaukee Brewers on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Apr 26, 2026 7:24 PM ET

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The Milwaukee Brewers snapped a difficult four-game losing streak on Sunday thanks to a brilliant performance from Kyle Harrison against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 24-year-old pitched just three innings in his last outing on April 21 as he was worked back slowly after being banged up and pushed back a few days in the rotation. He only tossed 72 pitches that day. On Sunday, the limits were removed and Harrison had the best start of his career so far. The young lefty tossed six shutout innings against Pittsburgh and set a new career high with 12 strikeouts. Before Sunday's contest, the lefty had reached 11 strikeouts in a game twice, once in 2024 and once in 2023.

On top of Harrison's 12 strikeouts, he also allowed just one base hit and walked one batter with 101 pitches. At the end of the day, it's hard to be much better than Harrison was on Sunday.

Kyle Harrison Thrived On Sunday

The timing of the best start of his career is ironic as well. The biggest story of the day on Sunday across Major League Baseball was his old team: the Boston Red Sox. Boston fired former manager Alex Cora, along with a handful of coaches, on Saturday, to the surprise of many. Sunday was the club's first game without Cora and unsurprisingly, opinions and takes came in from all across the league.

For Milwaukee, it arguably fleeced Boston in the Harrison deal. The Red Sox acquired Harrison in their deal to send Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last year. Milwaukee got Harrison in a package centered around Caleb Durbin, who has struggled overall to kick off the season for the organization.

Sunday likely was a tough day for Boston fans all over. Add in the fact that Harrison had the best start of his career to this point, then you've got some real salt in the wound.

That doesn't matter for Milwaukee, though. The Brewers acquired Harrison and have him under team control through the 2030 season. After another great outing for the club on Sunday, Harrison's season ERA is down to 2.28. This is the second straight year in which it seems like the Brewers won a deal with Boston. Last season, the Brewers acquired Quinn Priester from Boston and he had a 3.32 ERA and a 13-3 record in 29 total appearances. With the dysfunction over in Boston right now, Milwaukee should try to poach some other star. Clearly, the Brewers know what they're doing.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Brewers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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