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Pirates-Astros Preview

Sep 11, 2009 - 5:17 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (54-84) at Houston (68-71), 8:05 p.m. EDT

The Pittsburgh Pirates were on the wrong side of history during their recent homestand. Hitting the road might not make things any better.

The lowly Pirates look to avoid a 12th straight loss away from home when they open a weekend series against the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Closing in on a fifth consecutive 90-loss season, Pittsburgh (54-84) was swept by Chicago after falling 8-5 on Wednesday to conclude a dismal 1-5 homestand.

On Monday, the Pirates became the first franchise in any of the four major American sports to secure a 17th straight losing season. A day later the Cubs tied a major league record by opening the game with eight successive hits in an 8-5 win over Pittsburgh.

Last in the NL Central, the Pirates have lost 12 of 13 and are mired in their longest road losing streak since dropping 19 in a row July 23-Aug. 30, 1985.

"We're disappointed with where we're at, but you can't dwell on that because we have a lot of work to do," manager John Russell told the Pirates' official Web site. "We've still got this month to finish out. There is still a lot to play for and winning games is a part of that. We want to make sure we win as many games as we can."

The Pirates are 4-8 against Houston (68-72) this season and 2-4 at Minute Maid Park. They are a major league-worst 18-50 on the road and haven't won away from PNC Park since beating Colorado 7-3 on Aug. 11.

Pittsburgh, which is batting .218 and has an 8.02 ERA during its 11-game road skid, gives the ball to Charlie Morton (3-7, 5.43 ERA), whose last start was pushed back to give his sore groin more time to heal.

In his last outing on Sept. 1, Morton allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings to take the loss in an 11-5 defeat at Cincinnati.

"He's just a young pitcher," Russell said. "He's working on the mental side, reading the hitters. He's just learning how to harness his stuff and make it consistent."

The right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.90 ERA in two starts against the Astros after allowing five runs in four innings of a 5-0 loss at Houston on July 8.

The Astros turn to rookie Bud Norris (4-3, 6.05) as he tries to build off his first win in a month.

Norris snapped a personal three-game losing streak by allowing two runs in six innings of a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.

"He's got the stuff, he just has to learn how to pitch," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said of the right-hander, who'll make his first appearance against the Pirates.

Hunter Pence had three hits and Lance Berkman hit a three-run homer for his 19th of the season in a 9-7 loss to Atlanta on Thursday. Though the Astros dropped two of three to the Braves, they're 5-2 on this 10-game homestand.

Pence is 11 for 24 with nine RBIs on the homestand, and batting .318 against the Pirates this season at Minute Maid.

Berkman hadn't homered in 32 games, one shy of the longest drought of his career.