Game 94: Brewers @ Pirates 07.20.2016

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"Brewers-Pirates preview
Milwaukee
Brewers
39-52
7:05 PM ET
Line: PIT -155
Pittsburgh
Pirates
48-45
MIL: Anderson (4-10 , 5.44 ERA) PIT: Locke (8-5 , 5.26 ERA)
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2179 tickets available
11:59 PM ET
STATS LLC
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates, once again in the running for the National League wild-card playoff game they've played host to the last three seasons, still haven't solidified a starting rotation 93 games into the 2016 season.
Left-hander Jeff Locke (8-5) tries to add a bit of clarification on Wednesday night as he takes on another struggling starter, right-hander Chase Anderson (4-10), in the second game of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Pirates come in with two straight wins and 11 in their 15 games. The Brewers have dropped five of six.
Locke's record looks OK -- he is 3-0 in his last four starts and 7-2 in his last 10 -- but he has a 5.26 ERA and yielded a troubling 27 earned runs in 31 1/3 innings. And despite being a left-hander who has shown he can win consistently in the majors, he hears rumors nearly every time he starts that he's on the trading block.
The Pirates haven't done much to quiet the talk, as they hold in-season auditions for their rotation that, of late, added right-hander Jameson Taillon from Triple-A and auditioned right-hander Chad Kuhl -- who pitched six innings of one-hit shutout ball on Sunday in Washington -- and right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is expected to return from Triple-A Indianapolis to start Saturday against the Dodgers. Taillon held the Brewers to one run in six innings on Tuesday night.
In all, eight Pirates made their major league debuts in the first half of the season, prompting manager Clint Hurdle to say Tuesday, "The scenario (for that) had to be crazy, and it was."
More young pitching could be on the way, too, making this start even more important for Locke as the trading deadline approaches.
What the Pirates want is more offense. They've been held to six runs in 44 innings in their last four games, one lasting 18 innings, and were held to five hits in their 3-2, last at-bat win over the Brewers on Tuesday night.
Josh Harrison hustled his way to a triple on a ball hit high off the wall in right-center field to start the bottom of the ninth, then scored on the play when second baseman Scooter Gennett's throw skipped past Harrison.
"This offense is just battling, playing through every day," Harrison said after the Pirates' second successive win. "Hitting is contagious, not hitting is contagious, regardless of what people say. ... That's the name of the game -- just keep plugging away. Just try to push across as many runs as possible."
Locke gave up plenty -- eight earned runs and 11 hits in nine innings in his last two starts -- while going only four innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 6 and five innings against the Oakland Athletics on July 1, but the Pirates combined for 14 runs while winning both games.
Anderson will start against Pittsburgh for the first time this season after going 0-4 with a 9.61 ERA in his last five starts, walking a career-high five in each of his last two outings. His last one was an 8-1 loss to St. Louis on July 9.
And not only is Anderson not winning, the Brewers aren't winning consistently when he goes to the mound, either. With opponents batting .266 with 18 home runs against Anderson, the Brewers are 5-12 in his 17 starts.
Anderson is 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three career starts against the Pirates, who are 3-1 against the Brewers this season -- with 15 games remaining.
The Brewers lost in the final inning in each of their last two games, including a 1-0 loss on Sunday in Cincinnati. Reliever Tyler Thornburg (3-4) took the loss in each.
"It's not fun when get walked off on, but for the most part we're playing good baseball," Gennett said. "We're in these games, and we've got to keep grinding and eventually we'll run into some win streaks."
The Brewers haven't won more than three straight since winning four in a row May 24-27."