Major League Baseball

Orioles-Brewers Preview

Published May. 28, 2014 2:09 a.m. ET

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The Milwaukee Brewers may be happy just to have Yovani Gallardo's bat in the lineup.

He's still looking to show improvement on the mound.

A day after delivering a walkoff double, Gallardo will try to earn his first win in nine starts Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles.

Manager Ron Roenicke called upon Gallardo (2-3, 3.51 ERA) to pinch-hit in the 10th inning Tuesday after running out of position players, and he hit a drive to deep center that scored Mark Reynolds from first in a 7-6 victory over the Orioles (26-24).

"We work on it for that type of situation," Gallardo said. "That's one of the reasons we're out there hitting every day before the position players, because you never know. Whether it be as simple as getting a bunt down or getting a guy over to third base or whatever."

Gallardo is a career .204 hitter and his 12 homers and 42 RBIs are franchise records for a pitcher. His eight career game-winning RBIs are tied with the total of St. Louis' Adam Wainwright for the most among active pitchers.

The Brewers (31-22) would also appreciate some production from Gallardo on the mound, as he gets the nod after being skipped Sunday due to a left ankle injury.

The right-hander got hurt jumping for a high chopper during a 5-0 loss at Atlanta on May 20. He allowed four runs with three walks and left with one out in the fourth.

Gallardo has gone 0-3 with a 6.33 ERA in his last four starts.

He'll face Nelson Cruz for the first time, and the outfielder is 13 for 29 with five doubles, five homers and nine RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak. He had one of each Tuesday, with the home run being his major league-leading 17th.

Jonathan Lucroy is looking to extend the longest hitting streak by a Milwaukee player this season. The catcher is batting .459 with nine doubles and six RBIs in his nine-game run.

He has three hits in this series, doubling for one of his two hits while driving in one run Tuesday.

Carlos Gomez has at least one hit in eight straight, batting .441 with four doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in that stretch.

The Orioles have dropped four of six on the road, due in large part to an 8.10 ERA from the rotation in that span. Starters Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen have surrendered a combined 11 runs in 10 2-3 innings in this series.

Bud Norris (3-4, 3.83) gave up all four runs in the fourth inning while striking out six and walking three in six innings of an 8-4 win over Cleveland on Friday.

The right-hander had been backed with three total runs in his three previous outings, going 0-2 despite a 3.05 ERA.

"I just want to go out there and pitch and give my team a chance every five days and stay healthy," Norris told the team's official website. "I think that's the best I can do. And I think they think that way, too."

He's 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in four career starts at Miller Park, the most recent coming with Houston on July 30, 2012.

Norris, though, has held Lucroy and Gomez to a combined 2 for 24 with eight strikeouts.

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