Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 22, 2010 ) Milwaukee 20, Pittsburgh 0
While the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled in recent years, it got even worse for them last week in a series at home against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The great thing about Major League Baseball, however, is if you’re a pitcher who gets routed by a team, odds are it won’t be long before you can get your revenge.
Pittsburgh’s pitching ace Zach Duke, who won two of his first three starts and didn’t give up more than two runs in the process, was shelled by the Brewers on Wednesday. He gave up three home runs and allowed six earned runs in only five innings of work in an 8-0 setback.
His counterpart last Wednesday, Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo, had his best game of the season against Duke and the Pirates. He ended up with double-digit strikeouts (10) for only the fourth time in his career, allowed only three hits and pitched five scoreless innings en route to his
first win of the season.
Now, in the words of Yogi Berra, "It’s déjà vu all over again" as the two pitchers face off again on Monday at Miller Park.
As bad as Wednesday’s loss turned out to be, it got even worse for the Pirates on Thursday. The Brewers handed the Pirates the worst loss in the history of the franchise, allowing 25 hits in a 20-0 rout with Milwaukee using four different pitchers to blank the Pirates.
Revenge is sweet. But the realist will say that on paper it is likely the Pirates are in for some more negative karma against the Brewers, especially on their home field.
The Brewers have owned the Pirates and have won the last 21 homes games between the teams. Duke is 0-5 with an 8.63 ERA in his last seven starts against the club and has never won in Milwaukee in nine starts.
The only thing holding back Brewers’ ace Gallardo from being a special pitcher is his control.
In his first two starts this season, he allowed nine runs in 12 innings. In his last two starts he’s allowed only two runs in 11 innings with 15 strikeouts. And he’s had success against the
Pirates, going 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA in nine games including eight starts.
The embarrassment of that Thursday loss - coupled with Duke’s personal frustration of the way he struggled against the Pirates - could combine for an interesting game for fans.
One last thing to consider is that the Brewers struggled at the plate and on the mound over the weekend in a three-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs.
Milwaukee mustered only four runs in that series and could be slumping just in time for the Pirates to end their lengthy skid against their rivals.
Then again, the Pirates were just swept in three games by the Houston Astros.