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Pirates-Brewers Preview

Apr 28, 2010 - 4:48 AM By ANDY LEFKOWITZ STATS Editor

Pittsburgh (7-12) at Milwaukee (9-10), 1:10 p.m. EDT

With a lengthy losing streak in Milwaukee now over, the Pittsburgh Pirates aim for their first series win at Miller Park in almost four years when they wrap up a three-game series with the Brewers on Wednesday .

Pittsburgh ended a 22-game skid in Milwaukee by scoring five runs in the ninth inning off Trevor Hoffman in a 7-3 win Tuesday night.

Ninth-place hitter Ronny Cedeno greeted the all-time saves leader with a homer to tie the score at 3. One out later, Andy LaRoche singled, Lastings Milledge doubled and Garrett Jones was intentionally walked before Ryan Doumit hit his second career grand slam.

"That's how you break a streak, against one of the best closers in the league," Pirates manager John Russell said. "We battled and found a way to win it. That's important for these guys right now."

Hoffman has blown three saves in six chances this season, giving up five homers. Last year, he converted 37 of 41 chances, allowing only two homers in 55 games.

"I got it handed to me pretty good," said Hoffman, who dropped to 1-2 with a 13.50 ERA. "As a whole we lost the ball game and there's really nobody you can point a finger to other than myself."

LaRoche finished with four hits, and Doumit and Jeff Clement each had three as Pittsburgh tied a season high with 14 hits.

The Pirates (8-12), who also ended a seven-game overall losing streak in which they totaled 12 runs, are in position to take a road series from the Brewers for the first time since July 24-26, 2006.

To do that, they'll need Paul Maholm (1-2, 4.74 ERA) to snap a long skid of his own. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 4.89 ERA over his last six starts in Milwaukee, with his last win there coming in the finale of the set the Pirates won nearly four seasons ago.

Throughout his career, Maholm has kept Prince Fielder in check by limiting the burly Brewers slugger to an .091 average with 10 strikeouts in 33 at-bats. Fielder's second homer of the season Tuesday lifted the Brewers into a 3-all tie before Hoffman's meltdown.

Maholm gave up four runs and seven hits in a season-high seven innings of a 4-3 loss at Houston on Friday.

He will be opposed by Chris Narveson (1-0, 7.20), who makes his first start of 2010 for Milwaukee in place of the struggling Jeff Suppan.

Suppan is 0-1 with an 8.68 ERA in two starts this season, but Narveson hasn't been much better despite notching a win. The right-hander has allowed at least one run in seven of his nine outings. He tossed a season-high 50 pitches Saturday against Chicago, giving up three runs, three hits and two walks over two innings of a contest the Brewers lost 5-1.

Narveson surrendered one run and two hits in one inning of an 8-1 win at Pittsburgh on April 20, his only career appearance against the Pirates.

Despite Tuesday's loss, Milwaukee (9-11) has outscored Pittsburgh 56-11 while taking four of five meetings this year.