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Maholm, Pirates look to snap seven-game skid

Jul 21, 2007 - 2:23 PM Houston (41-55) at Pittsburgh (40-55) 7:15 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Paul Maholm takes the hill for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday as they try and snap a season-high seven-game losing streak.

Maholm will look to lead Pittsburgh to its first win since July 8 when they face the Houston Astros in the middle game of a three-game series.

Maholm (5-12, 4.68 ERA), who is tied for the major league lead in losses, was solid in his last outing on Sunday, limiting the Atlanta Braves to three runs - two earned - and eight hits in six innings but lost, 5-1.

Pittsburgh went just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the ninth as they fell, 2-1, on Friday.

However, the win proved costly for Houston, which lost ace Roy Oswalt after six innings because of a rib cage injury. The All-Star allowed just one run and seven hits and Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer as the Astros won for just the second time in eight games.

The Pirates have some hope as they have won six of seven against Houston this season. In addition to that, Maholm was impressive in his only start against the Astros, limiting them to three hits in a three-hit shutout on April 21.

Wandy Rodriguez (6-8, 4.33) gets the ball for the Astros and will try to rebound after seeing his scoreless streak of 16 innings obliterated by the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Rodriguez, who threw a four-hit shutout in an outing against the New York Mets on July 6, was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings - his shortest outing of the season - in a 7-6 loss to Chicago.