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Pirates strive to send Brewers's skid to double digits

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05/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even a return to Pittsburgh couldn't help the Milwaukee Brewers shake out of their current funk. The team will try to find its early- season success in the Steel City and snap a nine-game losing streak in this evening's finale of a two-game set with the Pirates at PNC Park.

The Brewers returned to PNC Park on Wednesday for the first time since April 20-22, a three-game sweep of the Pirates in which they outscored the Buccos 36-1 and capped the series with a 20-0 drubbing that was the worst loss in Pittsburgh's history.

Looking for its first victory since May 9, the Brewers instead saw the Pirates score three times in the seventh inning to hand Milwaukee a 6-4 setback and notch their third straight victory in this series.

Pittsburgh came into this series having lost 37 of its last 51 to Milwaukee since the start of the 2007 season.

Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit and Steve Pearce hit consecutive run-scoring singles in that pivotal seventh frame, while Brian Burres was solid over six innings of a no-decision.

"That's a tough lineup to battle through and Burres did an awesome job," said Jones, who is hitting .500 (13-for-26) with a homer and seven RBI over his last seven games .

Casey McGehee hit a game-tying homer in the sixth inning for the Brewers and then briefly put the club ahead with an RBI single in the seventh before Pittsburgh's rally. The third baseman his hitting .419 (18-for-43) in his last 11 games, adding four home runs and 14 RBI in that span.

With Milwaukee's bullpen struggling, manager Ken Macha tried to ride starter Randy Wolf as long as possible, but the left-hander allowed six runs on 10 hits and five walks over 6 1/3 innings.

"We know we're better than the way we've been [playing] and we have to approach everyday thinking it's the day we're going to turn it around," said Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun, whose club last lost 10 straight from Aug. 25-Sept. 3, 2006.

Despite throwing a career-high 130 pitches in just his fourth start of the season, Chris Narveson will make his scheduled start for the Brewers tonight.

Milwaukee had considered giving the left-hander some extra rest after his 5 2/3-inning effort versus the Phillies on Saturday. Narveson had a two-start win streak end after giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks. He fell to 2-1 with a 4.43 earned run average since joining the rotation following nine relief appearances.

"I feel great," Narveson told Milwaukee's website on Tuesday. "The trainers did a great job with my workouts. I took it a little bit easy in the bullpen. I've just been trying to stretch things out."

The 28-year-old's first start came versus the Pirates on April 28, and he got a no-decision in his team's loss after five innings of three-run ball.

Starting for the Pirates tonight will be Paul Maholm, who evened his record at 3-3 while lowering his ERA to 4.40 with a victory over the Cubs on Saturday. He gave up two runs and eight hits over six innings and didn't walk a batter.

"I was trying to eliminate some of the movement in my hands and make sure the timing was a little bit better," Maholm said. "With me, the walks were kind of piling up. I had some three-ball counts today, but no walks."

Walks factored into the left-hander's last start versus the Brewers on April 28, when the 27-year-old allowed four runs on seven hits and issued five free passes in a no-decision. Maholm is 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA lifetime versus Milwaukee.

Pirates manager John Russell should get a bullpen option back tonight if Brendan Donnelly is activated as planned. Donnelly hasn't pitched since April 27 due to a left oblique strain, and the 38-year-old righty is 2-0 with a 7.00 ERA in 11 games this year.