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Young looks to finish strong May

May 30, 2007 - 3:41 PM San Diego (29-22) at Pittsburgh (23-28) 7:05 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- If Chris Young had a choice in the matter, he might ask to make all of his starts in the month of May.

The San Diego Padres continue three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at PNC Park.

Over his four-year career, Young (5-3, 2.70 ERA) has been stellar in May, going 8-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 16 starts. It is the most wins and best ERA he has in any month.

After going 2-2 with a 4.33 ERA in April, Young has been adding to some impressive numbers by going 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA so far in May.

In his last outing Thursday, the 6-10 righthander struck out a season-high 10 batters against the Chicago Cubs but did not factor into the decision of a 3-1 loss despite yielding just one run and three hits over seven frames.

He now looks to continue his personal success against the Pirates, the franchise that drafted him in the third round in 2000. Young has won both of his career starts against Pittsburgh, posting a 1.08 ERA.

The Pirates go with Paul Maholm (2-6, 5.43), who is winless in his last three starts.

The 24-year-old lefthander allowed two runs and seven hits over seven innings at Cincinnati in his last outing on Friday, but did not factor into the decision of a 10-4 win in 10 innings.

This will be Maholm's first career start against the Padres.