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Marlins-Brewers Preview

Sep 25, 2010 - 5:28 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Florida (76-76) at Milwaukee (71-81), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Milwaukee Brewers will likely finish another season with a losing record, but Ryan Braun and the offense can't be faulted.

The three-time All-Star will try to keep the Brewers hot at the plate in order to extend their winning streak to four against the Florida Marlins on Saturday night.

With nine games left, it appears certain that Milwaukee (72-81) will finish with a losing record for the second consecutive season and the 15th time in 18 years.

Hitting hasn't been the problem.

The Brewers rank among the league leaders in batting (.263), homers (175), slugging (.427), on-base percentage (.334) and runs (710).

They are hitting .416 with five homers while outscoring opponents 27-6 during three straight wins.

Braun helped keep Milwaukee hot Friday, getting two hits and three RBIs to power a 6-2 win over Florida (76-77). A bruised left elbow forced the left fielder to miss Friday's 8-3 win in the opener of this four-game set.

Braun has a .382 average with four homers and 16 RBIs over his last 17 games. He's 13 for 34 with a homer and seven RBIs in his last eight games against Florida.

Pitching has been the biggest concern for Milwaukee, which ranks near the bottom of the majors with a 4.65 ERA. However, the staff has a 2.30 ERA during the winning streak.

Chris Narveson (11-8, 5.25) will try to win a third straight home start for the Brewers. The left-hander has a 2.57 ERA while striking out 17 over 14 innings in his last two outings at Miller Park.

He struggled in a 9-2 loss at San Francisco on Sunday, however. Narverson served up a first-inning grand slam before giving up two more runs and getting pulled with two outs in the fifth.

He lost his only start against Florida on May 31, surrendering five runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 13-5 defeat.

The Marlins have dropped eight of 12 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Friday's defeat.

"I think that this ball club is way better than a .500 ballclub, so we're going to try to finish way over .500," manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We should finish strong."

Another effective start from Chris Volstad (10-9, 4.82) would help.

The right-hander tossed a five-hitter in a 4-0 win over St. Louis on Monday, outpitching Chris Carpenter for his second career shutout. It was also Volstad's first start since being suspended six games for his involvement in a brawl against Washington on Sept. 1, and he had a 9.82 ERA in his previous three starts.

"Vollie went out and really showed what kind of stuff that he's got when he's on top of his game," second baseman Dan Uggla told the team's official website.

Volstad didn't get a decision in his only start against Milwaukee on June 2, yielding one run in 5 2-3 innings of a 7-4 loss.