On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Pittsburgh Pirates (63-80) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (73-69)-7:05PM Est.
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers for finally learning one of the NL Central's deepest darkest secrets: You can play like crap and still win the division. That's right, despite all their struggles of late, the Brewers have reclaimed first place in the NL Central. Now they move on to Pittsburgh to take on a Pirates team that just knocked the Cubs out of first. Will the Brewers be subjected to the same fate? The key for the Brewers lately has been the return of the home run to their arsenal. The Brew Crew is knocking the crap out of the ball, much like they did at the beginning of the season, and they're hoping it continues this afternoon. Carlos Villanueva will make the start for the Brewers today, and he'll be looking to match his last start. Villanueva held the Astros to one run in a 5-3 Milwaukee victory last week. He'll be going against Tony Armas who has had success against Milwaukee in his career. In five starts, Armas is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
