Pirates, Brewers to go back it at after slugfest

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though it went from a laugher to a nail-biter, the Pittsburgh Pirates were still able to snap their five-game losing streak to Milwaukee last night. Another offensive outburst might be needed, given Zach Duke's history against the Brewers.

The Pittsburgh starter will aim to halt his personal five-start slide this evening in the third contest of a four-game series versus the Brew Crew at PNC Park.

After losing a close encounter with the Brewers in Monday's opener, the Pirates raced out to a nine-run lead in the first inning of last night's contest, sending 13 batters to the plate in a frame that was highlighted by rookie Pedro Alvarez's first career grand slam and three Milwaukee errors that led to five unearned runs.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Pittsburgh scored nine runs in the first inning of a home game for the first time since Aug. 8, 1893, and the first time in any frame since June 8, 1989 at Philadelphia.

Amazingly, the Pirates lost that game to the Phillies over 21 years ago, and nearly did so again last night. Ryan Braun's two-run homer in the sixth inning pulled the Brewers to within a run, but Pittsburgh held on for an 11-9 victory for just its third win in its last 11 games.

Alvarez homered twice and drove in five runs while fellow rookie Neil Walker finished 5-for-5 with an RBI and run scored for the Pirates, who have still lost nine of 13 to the Brewers this year, including five of seven at home.

"That first inning was simply awesome," said Walker. "Hitting is contagious, and we certainly showed that. This is certainly something that we are capable of -- big innings like that one."

It was needed as well, as starter Brad Lincoln yielded seven runs over just 2 1/3 innings and the Pirates needed Octavio Dotel to record his 20th save of the season when all was said and done.

Lincoln actually exited the game before Milwaukee starter Dave Bush, who yielded 10 runs -- five earned -- over four innings of work. The right-hander had a streak of six straight starts in which he gave up two runs or fewer snapped.

"Other than this outing, I've been fairly pleased with how I've pitched for the last five or six outings," Bush said. "Sometimes these games just happen. Nothing was sharp for me tonight."

Jim Edmonds had a three-run homer for Milwaukee, which fell to 3-3 on an eight-game road trip.

Leadoff man Andrew McCutchen missed his second straight game for the Pirates due to a shoulder injury and is day-to-day. Pittsburgh could use his presence tonight, given that Duke hasn't won since May 18 and is just 3-7 with a 6.33 earned run average in 15 career starts versus the Brewers. That includes losses in both starts against them this year, with Duke giving up 14 earned runs over nine total innings for a 14.00 ERA.

Duke missed a month of action due to a left elbow injury and made his return to the rotation on Friday versus Houston. The left-hander saw his winless stretch extended even though he gave up just two runs on five hits over five innings of a 5-2 setback.

"[The Astros] didn't hit the ball hard off him, that's a good sign," Pirates manager John Russell said of the 27-year-old Duke, who is 3-9 with a 5.38 ERA this season. "They found some holes. For his first time back I thought he threw the ball pretty well."

While Duke has struggled versus the Brewers, Milwaukee starter Randy Wolf hasn't had similar issues against his opponent. Wolf is 8-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 16 career starts versus the Pirates and gone 1-1 with a 4.10 ERA in four starts versus them this year. He faced Pittsburgh in his final start before the All-Star break, allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings while serving up home-run balls to Lastings Milledge and Alvarez.

The 33-year-old lefty opened his second half with a victory versus Atlanta on Friday, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks over six innings of a 9-3 triumph. That victory moved Wolf to 7-8 with a 4.56 ERA on the season.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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