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Marlins-Pirates Preview

Aug 17, 2010 - 5:03 AM By SAMANTHA PANITCH STATS Writer

Florida (57-59) at Pittsburgh (39-78), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Florida Marlins' woes with runners in scoring position have continued, as has their losing streak.

The Marlins look to avoid dropping their fifth straight when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Florida (57-60) started its 10-game road trip with a three-game sweep of Washington, but then lost all three contests in Cincinnati before falling 7-1 to the Pirates in the series opener Monday.

The Marlins went 0 for 27 with men in scoring position against the Reds and that trend continued Monday, when they went 0 for 6. Florida has scored seven runs during its four-game skid.

"I think we have the talent," manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "I think (the players) know we should be out there performing better. But then again, I say this honestly, most of them are trying 100 percent."

The Marlins have struggled to find any consistency in their last 16 games. They won four in a row before their current slide, a surge that followed a five-game losing streak, which followed a three-game win streak.

"We have to take it upon ourselves as professionals and as a team to be more competitive, be more focused when we're playing and have more intensity," second baseman Dan Uggla said. "We've got to bounce back, even if something may not go right early on in a game."

Uggla and rookie Mike Stanton have been the only bright spots in the Marlins' lineup of late, combining for four of the club's five hits Monday.

Stanton is 15 for 27 with four homers and five doubles during the trip. Rodriguez moved him into the fifth spot in the lineup Sunday.

"More frequently, he's going to have runners in scoring position," Rodriguez told the team's official website. "So the pitchers will approach him differently. We'll see how he handles it."

Uggla, 12 for 27 with eight RBIs on the trip, is 5 for 11 against Pirates scheduled starter Zach Duke (5-11, 5.20 ERA).

Duke has gone 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA in his last three starts, giving up three runs in six innings of a 3-0 loss to San Diego on Thursday. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 5.76 ERA in five career starts versus Florida.

Ricky Nolasco (13-8, 4.39) will try to help the Marlins snap a five-game losing streak at PNC Park. Florida has gone 7-19 in its last 26 at Pittsburgh (40-78).

The right-hander pitched six innings in a 5-0 victory over the Nationals on Thursday. He has gone 8-2 with a 3.76 ERA in his last 10 starts.

Nolasco bounced back from a rough outing in his previous start Aug. 6, when he gave up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings of a 7-0 loss to St. Louis. He is 2-3 with a 2.45 ERA in seven games - five starts - versus Pittsburgh.