Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 26, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 9, Milwaukee 8

THE STORY: Finishing the regular season with a better record than the Arizona Diamondbacks is the main goal of the Milwaukee Brewers as they prepare for their final two games of the regular season. Milwaukee didn’t help its cause on Monday when it suffered a rare loss at Miller Park. The Brewers, who have already set a franchise record for home wins in a season, are 36-4 against the Pirates at Miller Park over the past five seasons. Randy Wolf starts for the Milwaukee opposite Ross Ohlendorf at Miller Park on Tuesday night. The Brewers need a win to tie their franchise record and are still looking to clinch home-field in the playoffs.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSWI, ROOT

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Ross Ohlendorf (1-3, 8.29 ERA) vs. Brewers LH Randy Wolf (13-10, 3.61 ERA)

Ohlendorf should be well-rested for Tuesday’s start considering he lasted just two innings in two of his past three outings. Arizona pounded Ohlendorf for seven runs on seven hits in two innings in his last start, an 8-5 setback. Prior to that, he he allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings as the Pirates beat the Dodgers 6-2. He is 2-3 lifetime against the Brewers with a 3.72 ERA.

Wolf has dominated the Pirates in his long NL career, going 9-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 18 appearances against Pittsburgh. Wolf has won seven of his last nine decisions but took a step back with a nightmare against the Cubs in his last outing when he served 10 hits for six runs in six innings. He could be looking at a long role out of the bullpen in the playoffs.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (72-88): Pittsburgh played without outfielder Andrew McCutchen on Monday after he was hit in the lower abdomen with a line drive in batting practice. The injury wasn’t believed to be serious and he could play Tuesday. McCutchen is batting .143 against Milwaukee this season. He is hitting .262 overall with 23 homers and 89 RBIs in 156 games this season. Pittsburgh blew four leads but still pulled out the win on Monday. Alex Presley homered among his three hits and drove in three runs. Pedro Alvarez also drove in three runs in the game.Jason Grilli walked one and hit two batters in the eighth inning but didn’t give up a run. Joel Hanrahan allowed a single, then moved the runner to third with two wild pitches but survived to notch his 40th save of the season.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (94-66): The Brewers are one victory away from matching the franchise record of 95, set in 1979 and matched three years later. The Brewers could still find themselves on the road in the first round and in an unenviable matchup against the Phillies - but they got some help from the Dodgers, who beat Arizona on Monday night. Ryan Braun didn’t start Monday’s game for Milwaukee but came off the bench to double and then was hit by a pitch. Braun is tied with the Mets’ Jose Reyes for the NL batting title. Both are batting .334 on the season after Reyes went 3-for-4 on Monday.

FINAL PITCH: Milwaukee is 6-1 at Miller Park against the Pirates this season, outscoring them 40-22.