Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 3, Milwaukee 4
While the Milwaukee Brewers have a chance to head into the All-Star break with a sweep, the Pittsburgh Pirates would like to avoid another empty road series.
The Brewers look to complete a three-game sweep of the Pirates today when the National League Central Division rivals close out the first half of the season at Miller Park.
Entering the series on a five-game losing streak, Milwaukee posted a pair of one-run victories to improve to 7-3 against Pittsburgh this year. With Friday's comeback triumph in extra innings, the Brewers also halted a five-game home slide.
On Saturday, Milwaukee jumped to a 4-0 lead after five innings before hanging on for a 4-3 win. All-Star Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored while Prince Fielder went deep for the second consecutive game.
Fielder played in his 273rd straight contest, the longest active streak in the majors.
For the Pirates, Saturday's setback was their fifth in a row and sixth in seven games. Pittsburgh has lost 23 of its last 25 games away from home and is 0-5 on its current six-game road trip.
Swept in six of their previous seven road series, the Pirates attempt to avoid making it seven of eight behind Brad Lincoln, who will be facing the Brewers for the first time.
The fourth overall pick of the 2006 draft, Lincoln will be making his seventh major league start and fifth on the road, where he is 1-2 with a 4.88 ERA. The 25-year-old right-hander worked five innings against Houston on Tuesday, allowing five runs and seven hits in a 6-2 loss.
Opposing Lincoln will be veteran Randy Wolf, who is 1-2 in his last four starts despite allowing just one earned run in three of those contests.
The 33-year-old Wolf tossed seven innings in a 6-1 setback to San Francisco on Tuesday, yielding five runs - one earned - and five hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.
Wolf owns an 8-2 record with a 3.42 ERA in 15 career starts against the Pirates. This season, the left-hander already has faced Pittsburgh three times, going 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA.
Wolf has had difficulty retiring a pair of Pirates in 2010. Andy LaRoche has collected four hits in six at-bats and Ryan Doumit is 4-for-10, with both players recording one RBI.
Pittsburgh has won just three of its last 29 contests at Miller Park.