Even if tonight's game didn't have a great pitching matchup, it would still have an interesting storyline: One day after tempers flared and Ryan Braun suggested retaliation might be coming after getting hit by a Jeff Karstens fastball, the Brewers and Pirates face off once more, meeting #2 of 14 this season. On top of that, though, tonight could be a great pitching matchup between one of the Brewers' most consistent starters and one of the NL's hottest.
Paul Maholm takes the mound tonight for the Pirates. He's 3-0 in his first four starts and has posted a 2.02 ERA, sixth in the National League. He's among the NL leaders in wins (third), ERA (sixth), WHIP (ninth)...and hit batsmen (second). He also has yet to allow a home run in 2009. He's starting his eleventh game against the Brewers tonight, and is 2-5 with a 4.26 ERA in 63.1 innings.
Hot as Maholm may be, Mike Cameron will be excited to see him: in 20 career plate appearances against Maholm, Cameron is hitting .611/.650/1.111 with three home runs. Among pitchers Cameron has faced at least 20 times, there's only one guy he's hit harder than Maholm.
| Pitcher | PA | OPS |
| Rocky Biddle | 20 | 1.936 |
| Paul Maholm | 20 | 1.761 |
| Matt Morris | 35 | 1.284 |
| Woody Williams | 32 | 1.103 |
| Brandon Backe | 24 | 1.090 |
For the Brewers, Dave Bush returns to the mound. In his last start, he nearly no-hit the defending World Champions, and in the process he lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 3.86. Bush is 3-4 with a 4.67 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) against the Pirates. Only two current Pirates have ever hit a home run off of him: Nate McLouth, who likely will not play again tonight, and Brandon Moss.
Game time is at 7:05. Tuesday's Game Thread is now open.