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Capuano, Brewers look to beat up on Pirates

Jul 3, 2007 - 1:41 PM Milwaukee (48-34) at Pittsburgh (35-47) 4:05 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Owners of the National League's best record, the Milwaukee Brewers continue their four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

With one more win than the San Diego Padres (47-34), the Brewers have climbed to the top of the heap in the NL. Some of that success is at the expense of the Pirates, as Milwaukee has taken six of the first seven meetings this season.

Chris Capuano (5-5, 4.35 ERA) hopes to capitalize on that success over Pittsburgh as he takes the mound for the first time in 25 days after being activated from the disabled list. He has struggled in his career against Pittsburgh, going 2-6 with a 6.63 ERA in 10 career starts against the Pirates.

The lefthander's last start was on June 8, when he surrendered six runs and eight hits over four innings in a 9-6 defeat to Texas. The performance capped off a stretch in which he went 0-5 over six starts, allowing four runs or more in four of those outings.

Shane Youman (NR) will be making his season debut and fourth career start for the Pirates. He is filling the void in the rotation left by Zach Duke, who went on the disabled list with a sore left elbow.

The lefthanded Youman, who went 4-6 with a 4.70 ERA in the minors prior to his promotion on Sunday, will be making his first career appearance against the Brewers. Youman went 0-2 with a 2.91 ERA in five career games - three starts - for Pittsburgh in 2006.