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Pirates-Cubs Preview

May 13, 2010 - 6:09 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (14-20) at Chicago (15-20), 2:20 p.m. EDT

Runs have been hard to come by for the Cubs and Pirates. With the way Chicago's Tom Gorzelanny and Pittsburgh's Brian Burres are pitching, it looks like this trend could continue.

After being swept last week in Pittsburgh, the Cubs hope to exact some revenge Friday when they open a three-game home series against a Pirates team trying to avoid losing its fifth in a row.

Chicago (15-20) arrived at PNC Park last week brimming with confidence after scoring 28 runs in winning three straight over Arizona, but the offense was quickly silenced. The Cubs were outscored 18-5 in losing all three games from May 4-6, suffering their first sweep against the Pirates since Aug. 28-30, 2006.

Chicago, which is coming off Wednesday's 4-3 win over Florida, has won two of six since, plating 18 runs in the victories while combining for nine runs in the defeats. Thanks to some solid pitching, the Cubs have excelled when scoring a pedestrian four runs, going 14-4 in such games, but they're 1-16 when failing to reach that mark.

Chicago's corner infielders are a big reason for the team's struggles with first baseman Derrek Lee driving in one run in the last nine games and Aramis Ramirez hitting .158 with three RBIs in the last 10. The two were a combined 3 for 22 in Pittsburgh last week.

While the Pirates' offense showed some signs of life against the Cubs, they've totaled 10 runs in losing five of six since.

Pittsburgh (14-20) is coming off an especially dismal showing, managing one run and 10 hits - including only two for extra bases - while getting swept in a three-game series against the Reds. Cincinnati's Homer Bailey threw a complete game in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Pirates one day after Johnny Cueto threw a one-hitter in handing Pittsburgh a 9-0 defeat.

This offensive incompetence has been an ongoing problem for the Pirates, who rank 15th out of the 16 NL teams in runs (114), batting average (.232), on-base percentage (.303) and slugging percentage (.353).

"Get some hits," manager John Russell said when asked how his team can get more offense. "That's about all we can do. Somebody's got to start getting some hits."

Although the offense is a major disappointment, Russell is pleased with what he's seen from Burres (2-1, 3.91 ERA).

Originally brought up as a spot starter for the then-injured Ross Ohlendorf, Burres has earned a place in the regular rotation. He allowed three hits in seven shutout innings in last Thursday's 11-1 win over Chicago after holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to four hits over 5 1-3 innings in a 2-0 victory on April 29. The left-hander also pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the Reds on Tuesday.

The Cubs counter with Gorzelanny (1-4, 2.83), who has been a victim of Chicago's struggling offense.

Gorzelanny pitched well enough to win Saturday at Cincinnati, allowing three runs and nine hits with nine strikeouts in six innings, but the bullpen got tagged and he suffered a 14-2 loss. The left-hander, who has the NL's best ERA for a pitcher with only one victory, has been backed by four total runs of support in five of his starts.

Gorzelanny, a starter for Pittsburgh for 4 1/2 seasons before being acquired by the Cubs last July, gave up one run and three hits with eight strikeouts in his only career start against his former team, a 3-1 victory on Aug. 15.