Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview
Miller Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 30, 2013 ) Pittsburgh 8, Milwaukee 12
The Milwaukee Brewers have won 12 of their last 15 games in large part because of their eight-game home winning streak. They will attempt to improve that mark Wednesday and complete their third straight sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates when the National League Central rivals conclude their three-game series. The Brewers are 46-7 at Miller Park against Pittsburgh since 2007 and have scored 71 runs during their nine-game winning streak over the Pirates, including Tuesday’s 12-8 comeback victory.
Despite their latest loss, the Pirates saw Andrew McCutchen end a woeful 2-for-26 stretch over his previous seven games with a 4-for-5 effort Tuesday while ending his 15-game homerless drought. The two-time All-Star is batting 20-for-42 with five homers and 13 RBIs over his 10-game hitting streak at Miller Park. Starling Marte also had three hits – his 12th multi-hit game of April – and belted a three-run homer.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jeanmar Gomez (1-0, 2.63 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Hiram Burgos (1-0, 3.27)
Gomez will make his first start of the season after five relief appearances, taking the place of Jonathan Sanchez, who was designated for assignment Tuesday. The 25-year-old yielded three runs and three hits over 4 1/3 innings in Friday’s 9-1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals. Gomez, who started 38 games for the Cleveland Indians over his first three seasons in the majors, has never faced the Brewers. In those starts, the right-hander posted a 5.32 ERA while averaging 5 1/3 innings.
Burgos was briefly in line for his second win in as many big-league starts in Friday’s 7-5 loss at Los Angeles, but was let down by his bullpen after leaving with the lead through six frames. The Puerto Rican, who was called up from the minors April 20, allowed three runs and four hits. The 25-year-old Burgos has never faced Milwaukee, but went 10-4 with a 1.95 ERA in 28 appearances – including 27 starts – over three different minor-league levels in 2012.
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee is 71-24 overall against Pittsburgh since 2007.
2. Marte is 6-for-7 with two walks leading off the first inning over the last nine games. He leads the majors with a .666 batting average in the opening frame.
3. Prior to his three-hit, five-RBI performance Tuesday, Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks had only seven hits in his previous 72 at-bats and four RBIs all season.
PREDICTION: Brewers 8, Pirates 6