MILWAUKEE (AP) — Paul Skenes is one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball this season. Not even he could slow down the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace right hander became Milwaukee’s latest victim after allowing the first two of five home runs Tuesday night in a 14-0 rout that extended the Brewers’ winning streak to 11.
“They’re hot right now,” said Skenes, who prior to Sal Frelick’s leadoff home run had not allowed a first-inning run in 24 starts this season. “I didn’t have my best stuff today and they jumped on it.”
Milwaukee is the first team with multiple winning streaks of at least 11 games in a season since the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays and the first National League team to accomplish the feat since the 1935 Chicago Cubs.
Despite the Brewers' success, home runs were not a big part of the equation for most of the season.
Brewers general manager Matt Arnold eschewed major changes at the trade deadline to instead address depth, banking on the players on-hand to be capable of carrying the offensive load.
That has paid off as Milwaukee leads MLB with 23 home runs since the start of August — six by Brice Turang and three more from Andrew Vaughn, who has 32 RBIs since joining the Brewers on July 7 following a dismal start with the White Sox.
Milwaukee’s .567 slugging percentage, .393 on-base percentage and .960 OPS since the start of August are the best in baseball as well. Its .323 batting average is tied with Toronto for the best.
It hasn’t been all offense, either. Brewers pitchers have combined for a 3.09 ERA during the streak.
Milwaukee’s starting rotation has set the tone, allowing just 22 earned runs during the winning streak. Six of those happened Sunday in a rare blowup start from right-hander Quinn Priester. Aside from his outing, Brewers starters allowed more that two earned runs just two other times and held opponents to one run or fewer five times including Tuesday night when Freddy Peralta spun six scoreless innings to keep the streak going.
"It’s been fun,” Frelick said. “Everyone’s clicking, the offense seems to be rolling and our (pitching) has done a great job, Obviously, we’ve been scoring a lot of runs but they’ve been putting a lot of zeroes and ones on the board every game and that’s a credit to them.”
A victory Wednesday against the Pirates would give the Brewers a fourth consecutive series sweep and extend their streak to 12 games, one off the franchise record set when the team opened the 1987 season with 13 in a row.
A victory would also trigger a promotion from local diner chain George Webb, which has promised to give away free hamburgers if the Brewers win 12 straight. The tradition, which began during the days of the old minor league Brewers of the American Association, went unfulfilled during the Braves’ 13-season stint in Milwaukee but finally came to fruition in ’87 then again in 2018, when the Brewers closed the regular season with eight straight victories before winning four in a row to open the postseason.
“I heard about that,” Peralta said. “I’m excited for that.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skenes throws to the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug.12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skenes throws to the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug.12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick (10) reacts after hitting a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug.12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
YANBU, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Luciano Benavides exploited a navigation blunder by Ricky Brabec minutes from the finish of the Dakar Rally to sensationally win the motorbike title on Saturday by two seconds — the smallest margin ever.
Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Attiyah safely secured his sixth car title on the 13th and final stage, a flat-out 105-kilometer sprint along the Red Sea coast to Yanbu.
Brabec was hurtling toward his third Dakar victory. While Benavides' KTM was faster in real time, Brabec's Honda was collecting time bonuses for opening the way and extending his overnight lead of 3 minutes, 20 seconds.
Then seven kilometers from the finish Brabec took a wrong turn. Benavides didn't. He saw a headlight turn around and slowed to see who it was. When he realized it was Brabec, Benavides knew the “almost impossible” was possible.
“I saw the opportunity and I took it,” he said. “I felt ready all day. I told everyone at the start of the stage ‘This Dakar is for me.’”
Benavides finished second on the stage to teammate Edgar Canet, who won his third stage of this Dakar. When Brabec arrived 3:22 behind Benavides, the Argentine's team lifted him on their shoulders and shouted “Lu-chan-oh, Lu-chan-oh.”
“It's unreal,” Benavides said. “Two seconds after two weeks and almost 8,000 kilometers is something that is hard to understand.”
The previous closest margin was 43 seconds by Luciano's older brother Kevin. That was another stunning comeback. Kevin started the 2023 final stage 12 seconds behind and won his second motorbike title.
Brabec's Honda teammate Tosha Schareina was a distant third after coming second last year.
Luciano started his ninth Dakar never having reached the podium and just three months after tearing knee ligaments in the Moroccan Rally.
Even after he started the second week with consecutive stage wins, he rode in the shadow of teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders, who was dominating the race until he crashed on Wednesday and broke his collarbone and sternum. Sanders continued practically riding one-handed and finished fifth for valuable points in the defense of his world rally-raid title.
Brabec won Friday's stage to gather an overall lead that even Benavides thought “was mathematically almost impossible” to overcome.
But, he said, “I never stopped believing. For me there was no strategy any days, I just give my best. I never tried to slow down. I feel bad for Ricky. He did a mistake and (it) cost (him) the Dakar.”
Al-Attiyah confirmed his sixth car title — two behind the record of former teammate Stéphane Peterhansel -- and first for Dacia after a cautious final drive, nearly nine minutes behind Mattias Ekström, who won his car-leading fourth stage.
Nani Roma could hack only six minutes off the overall leader's pace and Al-Attiyah ultimately beat Roma by 9:42, easily the lowest margin of his six victories.
Al-Attiyah has won for four different manufacturers in 2011 and 2015 in Argentina, in 2019 in Peru and in 2022, 2023 and this year in Saudi Arabia.
“I still need to beat Peterhansel's record,” he said.
Al-Attiyah and Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin both made their Dakar debut in 2004 and remember joking then that they would pair up one day. That happened only six months ago. Luquin, a former airline pilot, followed his father Jean-Marie into the Dakar and has surpassed him with his first Dakar win.
The Qatar-Belgium duo made the decisive move on Wednesday, regaining the lead by 12 minutes in the second half of a marathon stage. In the context of the closest race in more than two decades, the margin was massive.
“It's amazing to win," Al-Attiyah said. “I might not be showing much emotion but it's in my heart. We are so happy and thankful.”
Roma, the 2014 car champion, earned his first podium finish since 2019. Ekström's Ford held off Sébastien Loeb's Dacia by 37 seconds for consecutive third-place finishes. Loeb finished and failed to podium for the first time in 10 years.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, right, and co-driver Fabian Lurquin of Belgium celebrate winning the Dakar Rally after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Jan.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, right, and co-driver Fabian Lurquin of Belgium celebrate winning the Dakar Rally after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Jan.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Ricky Brabec of the U.S. reacts after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Jan.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Luciano Benavides of Argentina, centre, celebrates winning the Dakar Rally after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Jan.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Luciano Benavides of Argentina celebrates after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Jan.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
