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Pirates go after fourth straight win against Dodgers

May 10, 2011 - 2:45 PM (Sports Network) - If Pittsburgh Pirates starter Kevin Correia could pitch every game on the road this season, he just might be a Cy Young contender.

Of course, that's not the case and the hurler will try to pick up his first home victory of the season -- and National League-leading sixth of the season -- tonight in the continuation of a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.

In his first season with the Pirates after signing a two-year deal this offseason, Correia became the first National League hurler to reach five victories when he bested his former Padres club last Wednesday. That road victory, in which he gave up two runs over six innings, came five days after he threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings to beat the Rockies at Colorado.

The right-hander is the first Pirates pitcher since Don Robinson in 1982 to open the season with a victory in each of his first five road starts and Correia has also posted a 1.56 earned run average in that span.

"He's been a lot of the reason we've had some success on the road," manager Clint Hurdle said on Pittsburgh's website after Correia beat the Padres. "You like a guy to jump out and be the lead guy in the dogsled. That's what he's done in the rotation. He's jumped out. He's set the bar."

Correia, though, has set the bar pretty low at home, where he is 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA in three games, including two starts. The 30-year-old will try to improve on those numbers tonight against a Dodgers club that he is 5-3 against in 24 games (10 starts) with a 4.30 ERA.

Correia will also be trying to extend the Pirates' longest winning streak of the season to four straight games this evening. Pittsburgh took last night's opener, 4-1, for its first three-game winning streak since taking five in a row from Sept. 17-22 of last year. The win also moved the Bucs a game over .500 at 18-17 and two games off the pace in the NL Central.

With the game tied at 1-1, the Pirates went ahead on consecutive RBI doubles by Neil Walker, Lyle Overbay and Ryan Doumit in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Dodgers were able to get a pair of runners on base in the ninth, but Joel Hanrahan held on for his 11th save in as many chances.

"We're playing good baseball," said Walker, "and it's not just one or two guys offensively getting it done, it's not just one or two guys going out there and throwing shutouts. This is a total team effort."

Pittsburgh's go-ahead surge came right after the top of the eighth ended in some controversy. Los Angeles' Matt Kemp was hit by a pitch to begin the frame and Juan Uribe followed with a liner to left that appeared to be trapped by Pittsburgh's Jose Tabata. However, Uribe was called out and Kemp was doubled off first to end the threat.

Uribe was then ejected by third base umpire Mike DiMuro upon taking the field in the bottom of the eighth and manager Don Mattingly was also eventually tossed.

"I think my only frustration, more than anything else, was when Mike [DiMuro] says that he's not 100 percent sure and I ask him to get help, ask him to check, somebody else might have seen it, and he wouldn't do that," Mattingly calmly explained after the game.

Chad Billingsley took the loss for the Dodgers after allowing three runs on seven hits in seven-plus innings of work. It was Los Angeles' seventh setback in nine games overall and sixth in its last eight trips to Pittsburgh.

Ted Lilly's inconsistent season for the Dodgers continued against his former club on Wednesday and he looks to avoid a second straight defeat this evening.

The 35-year-old southpaw gave up five runs on eight hits over six innings versus the Cubs, including three home runs. Lilly came into the outing having allowed just two longballs in his previous six starts, but was hit hard in the 5-1 loss that dropped him to 2-3 with a 4.93 ERA on the season. Even worse, batters are hitting .318 off Lilly so far this season.

"When we're not scoring, Teddy tries to throw zeros every inning and not make a mistake, and that's not a good way to pitch," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on his team's website. "He really was throwing the ball good. Teddy's got to be perfect."

Lilly is 5-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 16 career meetings with the Pirates, including 14 starts.