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Pirates try to stay hot in matchup with slumping Tribe

Jun 17, 2011 - 2:45 PM (Sports Network) - It's been almost 12 years since the Pittsburgh Pirates were over the .500 mark this late into a season. With road ace Kevin Correia set to face a struggling Cleveland Indians team tonight, the Bucs have to like their chances of moving even further above the even mark.

Fresh off their first three-game sweep of the season, the Pirates try for a season-best fifth victory in a row tonight in the opener of a three-game set against the Indians at Progressive Field.

Pittsburgh left Houston with a sweep of their series after taking Thursday's finale, 5-4. Garrett Jones connected on a three-run homer early on and also snapped a 3-3 tie when his sinking liner scored Andrew McCutchen in the sixth inning.

Houston got a run back in the ninth inning to get within one, but Jose Veras recovered to post his first save of the season. That kept James McDonald as the winning pitcher after he gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings.

"I thought I competed, kept us in the game," McDonald said after Pittsburgh improved to 11-5 in its past 16 games. "I didn't have my best stuff. I didn't have the command, but I was proud I went at the guys, being aggressive, leaving it all out there."

At 35-33, the Pirates are two games over .500 this late in the season for the first time since they were 40-38 on July 2, 1999. Pittsburgh, which hasn't posted a winning season since 1992, also sits just three games back of first place in a tight National League Central, the closest they have been to the top spot this late in the year since a 2 1/2-game deficit on Sept. 9, 1997.

The Bucs will try to keep their momentum going behind Correia, who may find sanctuary on the road this evening after having a three-decision win streak halted Sunday at home by the Mets. The right-hander has made eight starts on the road this year, going 7-1 with a 2.42 earned run average.

Correia lost for the first time since May 15 nearly a week ago, but started off strong by retiring the first 14 batters he faced. However, the 30-year-old was eventually reached for four runs on seven hits without a walk over 7 2/3 innings.

"I was able to stay in the zone a little more today," Correia told Pittsburgh's website after the 7-0 defeat. "In turn, they had to swing at some pitches that were on corners and that's where I was getting some quick outs."

Correia fell to 8-5 with a 3.73 ERA this season and will face the Indians for the first time in his career. He is 3-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 20 career interleague games, including 10 starts, and gone 3-1 in his last six outings versus the American League.

An early-season success story, the Indians continue to fade thanks to Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Tigers in the rubber match of a three-game set. Cleveland lost for the 11th time in 14 games, falling a game back of Detroit for the top spot in the AL Central.

The Tribe scored twice in the first inning, with Michael Brantley ripping a triple and crossing the plate on a throwing error on the play and Asdrubal Cabrera scoring on Shin-Soo Choo's triple later in the frame, but ended up just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

That didn't help Mitch Talbot, who gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks in just four-plus innings.

"I thought that Mitch just labored," said Indians manager Manny Acta. "He flat out labored."

The Indians hope that Josh Tomlin can keep some runs off the board tonight, something the righty has failed to do over his past few outings.

Tomlin dropped his second straight start Sunday at the Yankees, giving up six runs for a third straight outing while also getting charged with a season- high 12 hits over just five innings in his shortest start of the season. He fell to 7-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 13 starts this season, but the second-year hurler also showed confidence afterwards by saying he wasn't intimidated by New York's high-powered offense.

"That's why you play the game. You play to play against guys like [the Yankees] to test your stuff," remarked Tomlin. "I didn't change my approach at all. I still tried to go after them."

The 26-year-old faces the Pirates for the first time and did pick up a victory against the National League back on May 21 after holding the Reds to just a run over seven innings.

The Pirates have taken two of three from the Indians in each of the past two seasons, with both series taking place in Pittsburgh. The Bucs haven't visited Cleveland since losing two of three in 2006.