Pirates, Giants Resume Series At AT&T Park
(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Pirates will try for their fifth straight win over the San Francisco Giants tonight, when the two clubs play the second test of a three-game series at AT&T Park.Pittsburgh swept a three-game series from the Giants at PNC Park back in May and extended that win streak with a 7-0 win on Friday. The Pirates are now 14-3 against San Francisco since the start and the 2006 season and 7-1 at AT&T Park in that span. Zach Duke hurled his second career shutout in Friday's win, allowing just six hits and two walks for his first win in 14 starts. Duke had dropped each of his previous nine decisions. Ryan Doumit had four hits and two runs scored while Brandon Moss knocked in three runs. Adam LaRoche chipped in with a pair of RBI for Pittsburgh, which won for the third time in four games following a 10-game losing streak in a contest that went uninterrupted despite a reported 4.1 magnitude earthquake striking the west coast during the top of the seventh inning. Kevin Correia surrendered three runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss for San Francisco, which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Rich Aurilia had two of the Giants' six singles off Duke. Paul Maholm will try to duplicate Duke's solid performance tonight for the Pirates. The left-hander, though, took a loss on Saturday versus the Brewers after allowing six runs on seven hits over just 5 1/3 innings. Pittsburgh's best pitcher this year, it was Maholm's shortest outing since a five-inning start on May 3 and the most runs he allowed in a game since yielding five on August 2. Maholm is 8-8 with a 3.81 earned run average this year and the 26-year-old is 1-0 with a 3.43 ERA in three career starts against the Giants. He has faced them once this year, getting a no-decision on May 8 after allowing four runs on six hits over six innings. Matt Cain goes for the Giants and he is also coming off a rough outing. The righty lost his second straight start on Sunday, giving up five runs on eight hits over five innings while also walking five versus Cincinnati. Cain, 23, fell to 8-11 with a 3.69 ERA on the season. He is 0-2 with a 5.71 ERA in three career starts versus the Pirates. Cain started opposite of Maholm on May 8 and got a loss, yielding five runs over 6 1/3 innings.
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