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Pirates aim for second consecutive victory

Aug 2, 2007 - 1:26 PM St. Louis (50-54) at Pittsburgh (43-62) 12:35 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates look to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month when they complete their three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

The Pirates, just 3-14 since the All-Star break, set season highs in runs (15) and hits (20) on Wednesday, ending the Cardinals' hopes of winning their season-high fifth straight game. Pittsburgh will be attempting to win back-to-back contests for the first time since winning four straight from July 3-6.

Anthony Reyes (1-10, 6.11 ERA), who won his first game in 13 outings this season and gained his first regular-season victory since September 3, will be asked to keep that from happening again.

Reyes snapped the slide by yielding two runs and two hits in a 5-2 win over Milwaukee in the nightcap of a doubleheader Saturday. He is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in two lifetime starts against the Pirates.

Pittsburgh will counter with Shane Youman (2-3, 4.66), who has dropped three straight decisions after collecting the first two wins of his career.

The lefthander surrendered a career-high six earned runs and eight hits over just four frames on Saturday versus Philadelphia.