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(Sports Network) - Former first-round pick John Van Benschoten gets his third start of the 2008 season tonight, when the pitching-starved Pittsburgh Pirates play the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series at PNC Park.

Van Benschoten, the eighth overall selection in the 2001 draft, began the season with the Pirates and made four appearances -- one start -- before returning to Triple-A Indianapolis in mid-May.

He returned in late June to a staff that had seen starters Ian Snell and Phil Dumatrait go down due to injury and youngster Tom Gorzelanny battling season- long ineffectiveness.

Gorzelanny was sent down earlier this week upon the returns of both Snell and Dumatrait.

Van Benschoten has pitched twice since being recalled, including a scoreless inning of relief in a 4-3 defeat of Tampa Bay on June 28 and a subpar start in which he allowed five hits and five runs in 2 1/3 innings of Pittsburgh's 9-5 win at Cincinnati on July 2.

In two starts this season, he has surrendered 14 hits and 11 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. Lifetime against Houston, the San Diego native is 1-1 with a 4.35 earned run average in 10 1/3 innings.

For the Astros, veteran right-hander Brian Moehler, who was drafted when Van Benschoten was only 13, will take the hill on Wednesday.

Moehler, a 36-year-old North Carolina native, has won just once in his last five starts, defeating Texas on June 24 after allowing five hits and a run in 6 1/3 innings. He dropped a 6-2 verdict to Atlanta his last time out, giving up six hits and five runs in six frames.

Lifetime against Pittsburgh, Moehler is 3-4 in 10 games -- seven starts -- with a 4.54 ERA.

On Tuesday, Nate McLouth homered and his two-run single capped a three-run eighth inning, sending the Pirates to a 4-3 win in a game that was delayed by rain for more than three hours.

Adam LaRoche, who had three hits, homered during the eighth for Pittsburgh, which endured three hours and seven minutes of delays in the fourth and sixth innings.

The middle contest of this three-game set ended at 1:11 a.m.

John Grabow (5-2) walked four batters over two innings, but managed to get the victory. Damaso Marte pitched the ninth for his third save as the Pirates won their second straight following a three-game skid.

Doug Brocail (4-4) surrendered three hits and was charged with three runs over two-thirds of an inning to suffer the loss.

Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence homered for the Astros, losers in seven of their last eight.

Pittsburgh won two of three games versus Houston from June 3-5 at PNC Park. The Pirates are 14-6 in the last 20 matchups in this series, with an 8-3 mark as the host over that time.

Houston went 13-3 against the Pirates in 2006.