• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sabathia eyes third straight win with Brewers

Jul 18, 2008 - 10:15 AM Milwaukee (52-43) at San Francisco (40-55) 10:15 p.m. EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- CC Sabathia has already found Miller Park to his liking. On Friday, he'll take his first shot at helping the Milwaukee Brewers get one step closer to breaking even on the road.

Sabathia makes the first start away from home for his new team when the Milwaukee Brewers travel to AT&T Park to begin a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants.

Acquired in a five-player trade from the Cleveland Indians on July 7, Sabathia (2-0, 2.40 ERA) has transitioned well to the National League, winning both of his starts at home. Despite his 8-8 overall record with the Indians and Brewers, the lefthander leads the majors with 137 strikeouts.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will get his first chance to rectify the Brewers' struggles on the road. Milwaukee is 21-26 away from home, opposed to an outstanding 31-17 home record.

After matching a season high with five walks in his Brewers debut, Sabathia was stronger in his last outing on Sunday, yielding two runs and eight hits with a walk and nine strikeouts while posting his fourth complete game of the season in a 3-2 win over Cincinnati.

Sabathia will be matched up against fellow strikeout artist Matt Cain (5-7, 4.06), who is eighth in the league with 121. The righthander, who has alternated wins and losses over his last 10 decisions, did not factor into Friday's 3-1 setback against the Chicago Cubs despite allowing three hits and striking out nine over seven scoreless frames.

The Giants are a major league-worst 17-28 at AT&T Park, combining the third-worst offense (175 runs scored) with the fifth-worst ERA (4.42) at home.