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Pirates hope for more road success at Coors

Apr 30, 2011 - 2:50 PM (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Pirates try to prolong an early-season road- warrior mentality tonight when they visit Coors Field for the middle test of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

Pittsburgh improved to 8-6 on the road on Friday night, when Kevin Correia combined with three other pitchers in a five-hit shutout as the Pirates downed the Rockies, 3-0.

Correia (4-2) allowed three hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings while Jose Veras, Chris Resop and Joel Hanrahan worked the rest of the game. Hanrahan picked up his eighth save of the season in the win.

Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones both hit solo home runs while Ronny Cedeno added an RBI triple for the Pirates, who dropped two of three to San Francisco in their previous series.

Jhoulys Chacin (3-2) gave up all three runs on six hits over seven innings for the Rockies, who had won three of their previous four.

Pittsburgh goes with lefty Paul Maholm, who'll try to reverse a career's worth of frustration against the Rockies. The Mississippi native is just 1-7 in nine starts against Colorado with a 6.84 earned run average across 50 innings.

He dropped a 7-1 decision to the Rockies on April 7 in Pittsburgh after allowing eight hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

The Pirates lost the initial four games in which Maholm pitched before he defeated Washington on Monday with seven inning of four-hit, two-run ball.

Colorado will start righty Jason Hammel, who's 1-1 in three career games against Pittsburgh with a 5.93 ERA.

He defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-5, on April 6 and topped Florida, 3-1, in his last start on April 23 in Florida. The 28-year-old has given up three earned runs or less in three of four starts, surrendering an overall 10 earned runs in 23 2/3 inning.

He's 1-1 in two home starts this season with a 5.73 ERA.

The Rockies took three of four in Pittsburgh April 7-10, while the Pirates held a 4-3 edge in the 2010 season series.