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Brewers seek to find their road game in Florida

Jun 3, 2011 - 2:35 PM (Sports Network) - The Milwaukee Brewers have the worst road record in the National League and proved that by losing two of three in Cincinnati earlier this week.

Perhaps a trip to south Florida will get the Brewers going outside of Miller Park, as they begin a four-game set with the Marlins tonight at Sun Life Stadium. Milwaukee is 9-19 away from home this season and is coming off Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Shaun Marcum left after seven innings with the lead, allowing two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts, but reliever Kameron Loe suffered the loss for giving up a two-run homer to Reds stud Joey Votto in the bottom of the eighth inning. Loe got the first two batters out before hitting Brandon Phillips with a pitch and serving up a blast to Votto, the reigning NL MVP.

"Honestly, I'm ticked off at myself for hitting Phillips," Loe said on Milwaukee's website. "I mean, I feel like I get a ground ball out of him every time. I got a little jumpy, got ahead of my arm and let it fly. Then, against Votto, I just got one up."

Rickie Weeks led off the game with a home run and Yuniesky Betancourt finished with two hits and knocked in a run for the Brewers, who lost for only the fifth time in their last 19 games and are 2-13 over their last 15 trips to Cincy. Ryan Braun was credited with an RBI, but has just one hit in his last three games (1-for-12).

Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan returns to south Florida where he was involved in a benches-clearing incident as a member of the Washington Nationals a season ago. Marlins starter Chris Volstad threw behind Morgan, who then charged the mound to prompt both dugouts and bullpens to empty. Morgan is hitting .389 since returning from the disabled list for a fractured finger and is expecting to hear it from the crowd.

"The boo birds will definitely be out," Morgan said on the club's site. "I just have to stay within myself and play my game. What happened last year, in my eyes, is over."

Randy Wolf draws the start for the Brewers this evening and looks to get his 4-4 record over the .500 mark against a Marlins team he hasn't fared too well against in his career, going 4-12 with a 5.93 earned run average in 20 starts. Wolf received a no-decision his last time out in a 3-2 win over San Francisco on Saturday and allowed two runs -- one earned -- in 7 1/3 innings.

The lefty, who was able to lower his ERA to 3.43, was coming off seven innings of one-run ball versus Colorado on May 22. In six road starts this season, Wolf is 2-3 with a 3.97 ERA.

Florida will begin a season-long 11-game homestand Friday versus the Brewers, Braves and Diamondbacks, and completed a nine-game road trip with a 5-4 mark.

The Marlins lost three of the last four contests on the trek, including Wednesday's 6-5 loss to Arizona in the finale of a three-game series. D'Backs outfielder Justin Upton singled home Willie Bloomquist with the game-winning run off of Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop. Clay Hensley was dealt the loss since he left the go-ahead run on base before exiting the game.

Javier Vazquez got the nod and was reached for four runs in six innings.

"It was a tough one because we played a very good game," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "Javy Vazquez, he was in control of the game until the sixth. They started making adjustments, but the first part of the game it was a good game."

Mike Stanton belted a two-run homer and added an RBI triple, and John Buck clubbed a solo homer in a losing effort. Logan Morrison doubled and scored a run, and is riding an eight-game hitting streak. He has reached base safely in all 18 games since returning from the disabled list on May 13 and all 33 games he has appeared in this season, going hitless in only five.

Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco suffered his first loss of the season the previous time out and gets the nod again Friday night. Nolasco was roughed up for a season-high eight runs and 15 hits in five innings of Sunday's 8-0 loss at Los Angeles, falling to 4-1 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 trips to the hill.

Nolasco is 1-0 in six home starts this season and will face the Brewers for the fifth time in his career. The right-hander is 1-1 with an 8.66 ERA over the first four starts in this matchup.

Milwaukee and Florida are meeting for the first time since splitting eight encounters a season ago.