Cary-Grove graduate Quinn Priester shines in 10-strikeout win for Milwaukee Brewers to start 2nd half

Cary-Grove graduate Quinn Priester’s breakout with the Milwaukee Brewers reached new levels Friday night in a 2-0 victory over the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Priester, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher, started the Brewers’ second-half opener and struck out 10 batters, including former MVPs’ Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in the first inning, and completed six scoreless innings with no walks and only three hits allowed.

Priester, who improved his record to 8-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 18 appearances with the Brewers, tossed 53 of 77 pitches for strikes before being lifted after the sixth inning.

Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig and Trevor Megill finished off the win with three perfect innings.

“I was having a lot of fun out there,” Priester told reporters. “Didn’t feel like the stuff was coming down yet. It was more just me feeling really good, feeling like I had some more in the tank.”

Priester outdueled Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow (6 IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K) as the Brewers equaled their longest winning streak of the season (eight). Priester only allowed one extra-base hit in the win: a one-out double by Freeman in the fourth.

Priester has made 13 starts out of his 18 appearances for the Brewers with 80 Ks in 94⅔ innings.

“I was having a lot of fun out there. Didn’t feel like the stuff was coming down yet. It was more just me feeling really good, feeling like I had some more in the tank.”

—  Quinn Priester, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher

Priester’s previous high for strikeouts in a game was set June 28 against the Colorado Rockies with 11. In that game, Priester allowed a hit and two walks in seven scoreless innings.

For his career, Priester is 14-11 with a 4.82 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 194⅓ innings.

Priester, 24, was drafted 18th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019. He pitched in parts of two seasons with the Pirates before they traded him to the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline in July 2024.

In April of this year, Priester joined his third major league organization when the Red Sox dealt him to the Brewers for minor league outfielder Yophery Rodriguez, a competitive balance Round A draft pick and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Milwaukee’s rotation currently includes Priester, Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Jose Quintana and rookie Jacob Misiorowski. Milwaukee could also return Nestor Cortes, who is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville.

The Brewers (57-40) lead the National Wild Card standings entering Saturday and trail the Chicago Cubs (58-39) by only one game in the NL Central.

Milwaukee plays two more games at Los Angeles this weekend before heading to Seattle for a three-get set against the Mariners. The Brewers return to American Family Field in Milwaukee for a six-game homestand beginning Friday against the Miami Marlins (July 25-27) and Cubs (July 28-30).