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Bucs hope to end woes in San Francisco

Aug 8, 2011 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) - In just a matter of weeks the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse and watched their brief lead atop the NL Central standings turn to dust.

Mired in a season-worst 10-game losing streak and 10 games off the pace in the division, the Pirates are out west hoping to put an end to their woes in Monday's opener of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

Pittsburgh was able to split a four-game series in Atlanta before suffering sweeps at the hands of the Phillies, Cubs and Padres. It lost all seven games on a recent homestand, including three straight versus San Diego over the weekend. The Pirates tried to stop the bleeding on Sunday, but dropped a 7-3 decision to fall for the 12th time in the past 13 games. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia allowed four runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings to suffer the loss and Brandon Wood led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in. Xavier Paul chipped in two hits for the Pirates, who were seven games over .500 (51-44) after a win over the Reds on July 19 and now have just three wins since then (3-15).

"It's amazing how quick things can change. On the other hand, we can change them in our direction quick as well," Wood said about his team's recent struggles.

San Diego outscored Pittsburgh by a count of 35-10 in the series. The Pirates will also visit Milwaukee for three games on this upcoming road trip. Hoping to get the Buccos back into the win column tonight will be starter Charlie Morton. Morton is just 1-3 over his last seven starts and threw seven shutout innings for a no-decision in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Cubs. Morton was coming off a start at Philadelphia in which he gave up eight runs -- six earned -- and nine hits in four innings.

Morton has performed rather well on the road this season with a 5-2 mark in nine visiting assignments, but is just 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA in five career starts against San Francisco. He faced the Giants in a 3-2 loss on April 26 at PNC Park and did not figure into the decision with six innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts.

San Francisco has endured its struggles as well and was able to gain some sort of order with Sunday's 3-1 win over the Phillies in the finale of a four-game series from AT&T Park. Giants ace Tim LIncecum hit the 10-win mark (10-9) by holding Philadelphia to a run on seven hits with five K's over 7 2/3 innings. Javier Lopez got the final out of the eighth inning before closer Brian Wilson came on to register his 34th save of the season. Wilson and Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel are tied for the most saves in the majors.

The Giants were able to maintain their slim half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.

"We got the Diamondbacks nipping at our heels ... We have to use this as a [spark] to a winning streak," Lincecum said.

Jeff Keppinger went 4-for-4 with an RBI, while Orlando Cabrera and Chris Stewart both drove in runs for San Francisco, which salvaged the finale of the series to win for just the second time in 10 tries. The Giants are 2-5 on a 10-game homestand and have held the top spot in the NL West for the past 44 days.

Ryan Vogelsong will try to stretch San Francisco's stay in first place when he takes the mound Monday night. The All-Star right-hander hasn't lost since May 26 versus Florida and is 9-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) this season. He has won his last six decisions and defeated Arizona in last Wednesday's 8-1 drubbing by the Bay. He allowed one run and five hits over six innings and struck out seven batters.

Vogelsong, who played with the Pirates in parts of 2001-2006, beat Pittsburgh in a 5-2 victory on April 28 from the Steel City, as he delivered 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball and eight K's. He is 6-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) at home this season.

San Francisco won two of three meetings in Pittsburgh from April 26-28 and is 10-5 in this series since the beginning of the 2009 campaign.