Bill Batterman is the Pittsburgh’s beautiful PNC Park has not been kind to the Brewers. Since the stadium opened in 2001, Milwaukee is just 15-30 including a regrettable four-game series sweep in 2004 that seemed to derail a very promising season for the Crew. The two teams split eight games there in 2005 but the Pirates spoiled the Brewers run for an 82nd win by besting them 5-1 and 3-1 in the season’s final two games. Milwaukee will look to continue their efforts at redemption this week after they swept the Pirates in the opening series of the season at Miller Park this April.
The Brewers will hand the ball to a trio of southpaws to open the series, something that should be to their advantage. The Pirates are just 2-15 in games started by left-handers in 2006 and have hit a collective .256/.336/.404 against them, good for just twelfth in the National League in OPS. Overall, the Bucs boast the second-worst record in the National League and have relied almost exclusively on the dynamic duo of Jason Bay (.309/.435/.618 with 16 homers) and Craig Wilson (.283/.363/.533 with 9 homers) to power their anemic offense, but with Sean Casey returning from the disabled list, Wilson will head back to the bench.
On the mound, the Pirates have allowed opposing batters to hit .287 with an 810 OPS, worst in the National League, and their starting rotation is the worst in the league in opponents’ batting average (.297), OPS allowed (849), and WHIP (1.65). Amazingly, four of the team’s five starters rank in the bottom ten in the NL in WHIP among qualified starters and Paul Maholm, Ian Snell, and Oliver Perez rank at the very bottom of that list.
Coming off a series win against the Phillies, the Brewers are hoping to take advantage of the Pirates’ pitching woes while they fight their way into contention for the Central division lead and the NL Wild Card.