Milwaukee @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2015 ) Pittsburgh 3, Milwaukee 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting to turn their fortunes around against their National League Central foes, although the Milwaukee Brewers have routinely had their number. Winners of four of their last six overall, the Pirates attempt to snap a six-game losing skid to the Brewers when the clubs open a four-game series at PNC Park on Thursday.

Pittsburgh had dropped 32 of its first 52 meetings with its NL Central rivals before taking two of three from both first-place St. Louis and last-place Cincinnati. The Pirates, who reside 4 1/2 games behind the Cardinals, haven't helped themselves against Milwaukee as they have been outscored by a lopsided 39-18 margin during the last six meetings. The Brewers have cooled a bit by losing two straight to Miami after winning seven of their previous eight contests. Ryan Braun is 16-for-37 (.432) with nine runs scored in his last nine outings and is 7-for-20 versus Thursday starter A.J. Burnett.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Wily Peralta (5-8, 4.21 ERA) vs. Pirates RH A.J. Burnett (8-5, 3.06)

Peralta tossed two scoreless innings against Cincinnati on Saturday but walked away with a no-decision after Mother Nature intervened. The 26-year-old Dominican had won three of his previous four starts as he attempts to salvage an injury-marred season, but has struggled mightily on the road (1-4). Peralta fell to 2-2 in his career versus Pittsburgh after allowing one run on five hits in seven innings to suffer a hard-luck defeat in his last meeting.

Sidelined since late July due to inflammation in his pitching elbow, Burnett completed a bullpen session on Sunday without issue and is ready to return to the rotation. The 38-year-old has sputtered against Milwaukee, posting a 2-7 mark in 12 career appearances. Burnett suffered a hard-luck loss to the Brewers on June 8, ending up on the wrong end of the decision despite yielding one run on five hits in seven innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pittsburgh 3B Jung Ho Kang went deep for the second straight contest with a grand slam in Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the Reds, improving to 3-for-9 with five RBIs and three runs scored in that stretch.

2. Milwaukee C Jonathan Lucroy will likely miss Thursday's tilt as he continues follow concussion protocol stemming from taking a foul ball off his mask.

3. Pirates RF Gregory Polanco is 4-for-9 with four runs scored in his last two games.

PREDICTION: Brewers 4, Pirates 2