Baltimore @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2011 ) Baltimore 3, Pittsburgh 9

THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to win an interleague series for only the third time in franchise history - and second time this year - when they host the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday afternoon. The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 3-5 in interleague play this year with Tuesday’s 9-3 rout. It marked the most runs scored by Pittsburgh since June 1 and surpassed its run total (seven) during the four-game skid.

TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore), Root Sports (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH Zach Britton (6-4, 3.10 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Kevin Correia (8-6, 3.60 ERA). After winning five of his first six starts, Britton went 0-3 during a six-game winless streak that included nine scoreless innings of three-hit ball against Seattle. The rookie bounced back from two rocky outings with a solid 6 1/3 innings to beat Oakland on June 8. The Orioles are planning to lighten the workload of Britton, who went five innings last time out, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits in five innings. Correia is coming off two straight losses, including a rare defeat on the road. He has had his worst outings at PNC Park, where he is 1-4 in seven home starts. Conversely, Correia has been sensational on the road, going 7-2 in nine starts and allowing two earned runs or fewer in eight of them. Although he has never faced Baltimore, Derrek Lee is 4-for-10 and Mark Reynolds is 9-for-38 with 17 strikeouts against him.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (36-37): Pittsburgh broke out of its offensive doldrums by pounding out 15 hits Tuesday night. Neil Walker had three RBIs and was among five players with two hits apiece. Garrett Jones, Xavier Paul and Jose Tabata each drove in two runs. The starting pitching, which carried the team for much of the season, continues to crumble. James McDonald couldn’t get through five innings despite being staked to a 5-0 lead. The bullpen picked up McDonald with 4 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. Charlie Morton lasted only two innings in Monday’s series opener. He will have his next start skipped because of fatigue.

ABOUT THE ORIOLES (33-38): Baltimore also has mound issues after ace Jeremy Guthrie was raked for six runs and 11 hits. He has won only once in 14 starts since opening day. The Orioles had plenty of scoring chances Tuesday but couldn’t come up with the key hit, stranding 10 runners after collecting 14 hits in each of the two previous games. Adam Jones had a two-run homer to extend his hitting streak to five games. He has six RBIs in his last four. J.J. Hardy also went deep and had his third straight two-hit game.

FINAL PITCH: Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who has been sidelined more than a month with a concussion, was not cleared to resume baseball activities Tuesday. He will be evaluated again in two weeks and is not expected to return until late July at the earliest.