Cubs-Pirates Preview

If the Chicago Cubs are going to be serious contenders in the NL Central, they'll probably need to show some improvement on the road. Visiting the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates may be just what they need.

The Cubs go to Pittsburgh on Monday night to begin a three-game series, which will end a 10-game road trip on which they've managed only one win thus far.

Chicago (35-37) entered this trip riding a four-game winning streak. That run was halted with a 2-0 loss at Atlanta last Monday as the Cubs stranded 12 runners. It turned out to be the first of six losses in seven games, including Sunday's 6-0 defeat to the Chicago White Sox as the Cubs were held to four hits.

The Cubs are fourth in the Central, 3 1/2 games behind co-leaders Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Their poor road results are one key reason for the gap. They are among the worst road clubs in the NL with a 14-24 record while hitting .235 -- 23 points lower than at home.

Chicago has a .224 average in losing eight of its last nine away from Wrigley Field.

The Cubs, though, have won 19 of the last 24 meetings with the Pirates (35-40). Chicago, which won two of three at home from May 25-27 in the only series between the division foes this year, won seven of nine at Pittsburgh last year while batting .297 and outscoring the Pirates 72-41.

Rich Harden (4-4, 4.95 ERA) will try to get Chicago off to a strong start as he looks to convert his first game against Pittsburgh into his first win in nearly seven weeks.

The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.64 ERA in four starts since a 6-2 win over San Diego on May 12. His losing streak started five days later with a 6-5 defeat to Houston, and a lower back strain landed him on the disabled list the following day.

Harden is 0-2 with a 5.51 ERA in three starts since returning from the DL.

He wasn't happy with his most recent trip to the mound Wednesday, giving up four runs and four hits, including two homers, with four walks in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss at Detroit.

"It was an ugly game and I was unhappy with my performance," Harden said after falling to 2-1 with a 2.96 ERA in four road starts. "That's all I have to say."

The last-place Pirates saw their four-game winning streak end with Sunday's 3-2 loss to Kansas City.

Zach Duke (8-5, 3.09) will try to extend his home winning streak to six starts and get his first win over the Cubs in more than three years.

The left-hander has a 2.50 ERA in winning his last five outings at PNC Park.

Duke continued his impressive streak Wednesday, yielding one run and five hits in six innings of a 10-6 win over Cleveland.

"He doesn't mess around," Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche told the team's official Web site. "He doesn't have a lot of deep counts. He throws a lot of strikes, gets a lot of ground balls. There is always action."

Duke, though, is 0-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 10 starts against the Cubs since beating them May 2, 2006. He has a 2.76 ERA in five career meetings at Pittsburgh, but only a 1-2 record to show for it.