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Brewers-Pirates Preview

Jul 19, 2009 - 11:34 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Milwaukee (47-44) at Pittsburgh (40-50), 7:05 p.m. EDT

It's been 2 1/2 months since Milwaukee and Pittsburgh last met.

The Pirates probably wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer to play again.

The Brewers look for their 18th straight victory over Pittsburgh when the NL Central rivals open a three-game series at PNC Park on Monday night.

With an 8-5 win over the Pirates (40-51) on May 5, Milwaukee (47-45) extended its winning streak in the series to 17 games. It's the longest winning streak by one major league team over another since Baltimore beat Kansas City 23 straight times during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.

The games between the Brewers and Pirates have rarely been close. Milwaukee has outscored Pittsburgh 111-49 in the 17 victories since an 8-4 loss at PNC Park on May 22, 2008. The Brewers, who are 19-1 versus the Pirates since the start of last season, have plated 32 runs in winning all five meetings in 2009.

"There's not much you can say, they've had our number and you try to put that in the past, but then they've beat us every time this year," Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez said after the last loss. "You can't say much about it - just try to get them the next time."

Ryan Braun has led the Brewers' offense in the 20 games versus the Pirates since the start of 2008, batting .309 (25 for 81) with five home runs and 20 RBIs. The two-time All-Star returned to Milwaukee's lineup in Sunday's 5-3 loss to Cincinnati after missing one game with a bruised right thumb, and went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.

The trip to Pittsburgh may be coming at the right time for the Brewers, who have dropped 10 of 15 games this month to fall from the Central lead to their current third place, three games behind front-running. St. Louis.

The Brewers are hoping the addition of second baseman Felipe Lopez can provide some offense to the top of the order.

Lopez, acquired in a trade with Arizona on Sunday, was hitting hit .301 with six homers, 25 RBIs and six stolen bases in 85 games with the Diamondbacks. Milwaukee has been without starting second baseman Rickie Weeks, who had three home runs and 10 RBIs in the five games versus the Pirates this season, since he had season-ending wrist surgery in May.

The last-place Pirates have dropped 12 of 17, including a 4-3 home loss to San Francisco on Sunday. Pittsburgh has scored three runs or fewer in six of its last seven games.

Ross Ohlendorf (7-7, 4.64 ERA) takes the mound for the Pirates in the series opener, making his first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Although Ohlendorf has been inconsistent during his first season as a full-time starting pitcher, the right-hander has looked comfortable at PNC Park, going 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in nine starts there. In his last three home outings, Ohlendorf has yielded just three runs in 20 innings while limiting opponents to a .164 batting average.

Last Saturday, Ohlendorf allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings and did not factor in the decision of an 8-7 loss at Philadelphia.

The Brewers counter with Mike Burns (2-2, 5.54), who is set to make his fifth career start and first against the Pirates.

A former reliever, Burns has alternated wins and losses in four starts in Milwaukee's rotation, yielding five runs over 11 2-3 innings in the victories but 11 runs in 10 1-3 innings in the defeats. In his last outing July 11, the right-hander gave up three runs and six hits with a career-high seven strikeouts in five innings of a 6-3 home win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.