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Brewers-Pirates Preview

May 19, 2010 - 4:07 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Milwaukee (15-23) at Pittsburgh (16-22), 7:05 p.m. EDT

A chance to face the Pittsburgh Pirates is generally an opportunity the Milwaukee Brewers relish. The last time these teams met, though, the Pirates snapped a few embarrassing streaks.

Right now, the Brewers are entrenched in a humiliating streak of their own.

Milwaukee tries to avoid a ninth consecutive loss Wednesday night in the opener of a two-game set at PNC Park, where it outscored the Pirates 36-1 to sweep a three-game series last month.

The Brewers (15-24) came into Tuesday's game at Cincinnati having lost seven straight - their longest skid since dropping 10 in a row Aug. 25-Sept. 3, 2006 - but looked well on their way to ending the slump with a two-run, ninth-inning lead.

Then, Trevor Hoffman's nightmarish season continued. The all-time saves leader blew his fifth opportunity, failing to retire any of the five hitters he faced as the Brewers lost 5-4.

"You have to get 27 outs, not just 24," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "We played a great game, got good pitching, then got to the ninth inning and didn't get anybody out. It's a tough part of the game when you play your heart out and can't close it out."

Milwaukee has been outscored 62-27 during its slide, a far cry from the dominance it displayed during its last trip to Pittsburgh. After taking the first two games by a 16-1 margin, the Brewers won 20-0 on April 22, handing the Pirates (17-22) the worst loss in their history.

Pittsburgh's overall losing streak in the series reached seven four days later at Miller Park - its 22nd consecutive loss in Milwaukee - but it finally bounced back. Hoffman blew back-to-back save opportunities, with Ryan Doumit taking him deep in each game, as the Pirates left with two wins.

"I think we earned back a little bit of respect in the Brewers' eyes," Doumit said. "We've been a doormat against these guys. When you're winning by 17 or 20 runs a game, you tend not to take the other team too serious. After these last two games, I would like to think they know we're not going to give up. They're going to be in for a dogfight from here on out."

Pittsburgh heads home with some momentum after going 3-2 on the road, its first winning trip away from PNC Park since August 2007.

The victory that ended that lengthy drought was particularly impressive. Garrett Jones had three hits and Doumit two as the Pirates beat Roy Halladay and Philadelphia 2-1 on Tuesday.

"It was a good win for our team and a morale booster," Duke said.

Brian Burres (2-1, 5.00 ERA) will look to keep Pittsburgh's momentum going, but he'll probably have to pitch better than he did Friday in Chicago. The left-hander gave up six runs over four innings, though the Pirates' offense bailed him out in a 10-6 victory.

Burres allowed two runs in four innings of relief in an 8-1 loss to the Brewers on April 20.

He'll be opposed by Randy Wolf (3-3, 4.66), who will try to bounce back after yielding six runs over five innings in a 9-5 loss to Philadelphia on Friday.

Facing the Pirates should provide a great opportunity. The left-hander is 7-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his last 12 starts against the Pirates, including 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two this season.