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Marlins-Brewers Preview

Sep 23, 2010 - 4:43 AM By MATT BROWN STATS Editor

Florida (75-75) at Milwaukee (69-81), 8:10 p.m. EDT

Both the Florida Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers are coming off excellent offensive showings.

Runs will likely be harder to come by for each team Thursday night.

Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo squares off against Florida's Anibal Sanchez when the Marlins open a four-game series in Milwaukee.

Streaky Florida (76-75) has won three straight games for the ninth time since the All-Star break, but the Marlins have been unable to escape mediocrity due to five losing streaks of at least three games during the season's second half.

The current run was immediately preceded by a season-high six-game skid composed of three-game sweeps by Philadelphia and Chicago.

Dan Uggla went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and former Milwaukee third baseman Wes Helms drove in three Wednesday as the Marlins scored five first-inning runs and held on for a 7-5 home win over the New York Mets to complete a two-game sweep.

"Nobody likes to lose, whether you're in it or out of it," Uggla said. "We had a rough stretch there. Philly and the Cubs really put it on us, but every day is a new day. These last three have been fun."

The Brewers (70-81) also had fun Wednesday, snapping a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion.

Milwaukee routed NL Central-leading Cincinnati 13-1, exceeding by one run its output from the previous five games combined. The 13 runs were also the most scored by the Brewers since an 18-1 road victory over the Cubs on Aug. 2.

Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun went 2 for 3, but exited in the fifth with a bruised left elbow after being hit by a pitch. However, manager Ken Macha said he didn't think Braun was hurt too badly and would have pulled him anyway due to the lopsided score.

"I think he's OK," Macha said. "He came walking out on the bench in the eighth inning."

Gallardo (13-7, 3.55 ERA) will seek to continue his recent run of success and strong pitching against the Marlins. The right-hander has allowed one run and nine hits over 14 innings while winning his last two starts. He limited the Giants to one run and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 win at San Francisco on Saturday.

Gallardo has also yielded one earned run over 14 innings in two career starts versus the Marlins, posting a 1-0 record. He got credit for Milwaukee's 7-4 win at Florida on June 2 by pitching seven strong innings.

That was the Brewers' lone victory in that four-game set. The Marlins hold an 11-6 edge in this series since the start of 2008.

Sanchez (12-10, 3.46) has yet to face Milwaukee this season, but has allowed three runs or fewer in all four of his previous starts against the Brewers, compiling a 2-0 record and 2.86 ERA. He's been particularly tough on Prince Fielder, who is 1 for 11.

The right-hander has dropped two of his last three starts overall, including a 5-3 home loss to Chicago on Saturday in which he gave up four runs, five hits and five walks in five innings.