MILWAUKEE — Dave Bush seems to always struggle in the opening innings. Good thing a run or two doesn't matter to these Brewers.

Bush rebounded from another slow start to toss seven solid innings, then watched Mike Cameron homer to cap a six-run seventh as Milwaukee rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-4 on Friday night.

"I wish I could be more consistent in the beginning of the game. That's kind of been a problem for me throughout my career," said Bush, who allowed a run in each of the first two innings. "I keep in mind that it's a long game, and definitely with the offense that we have, it's not very often one or two runs is going to beat us. It just gives me the peace of mind to be able to go out inning after inning and try to work in a groove."

J.J. Hardy also homered for Milwaukee, which leads the wild-card chase by 2Z\x games after St. Louis beat Atlanta. The Brewers are 4Z\x games behind Chicago in the NL Central after the Cubs lost earlier Friday to Washington.

Bush (8-9) continued his resurgence since a pair of losses in June, and the Brewers gave him plenty of offense, breaking the game open with a big seventh inning after Bush left, capped by Cameron's two-run homer off reliever Sean Burnett that hit the right field foul pole and made it 10-3. Cameron said it was the third time this season he's homered off the pole.

Milwaukee, which batted around in the inning, also got RBI from Rickie Weeks, Hardy, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, marking the eighth time this season the Brewers have scored at least 10 runs.

"They really believe in themselves and what they are out to accomplish," Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. "You can see it. It's been different the last couple years. You have seen them grow into a very good team with the same players every year. Other than being their opponent, it's been nice to see something we would want here."

Hardy hit his 20th home run of the season to begin the fifth and give Milwaukee a 4-2 lead, after the Brewers scored three times in the fourth to erase a 2-0 deficit.

Pirates starter Zach Duke (4-12) hasn't won since June 9, losing a career-high eight straight decisions over 11 starts. The defense was just as putrid for Pittsburgh, which lost its 10th straight in Milwaukee.

In the fourth, the Pirates committed a pair of throwing errors that led to a two-run double by Corey Hart and a sacrifice fly by Bill Hall.

"Some tricky things happened, and they put the hammer down on me," Duke said.

Notes: The Pirates activated Doug Mientkiewicz from the bereavement list Friday. To make room on the roster, Steve Pearce was optioned to triple-A Indianapolis. Mientkiewicz was placed on the bereavement list Monday to be with his wife, Jodi, for her pacemaker procedure. ... Pirates left-hander Tom Gorzelanny and right-hander Matt Capps will rejoin the team Saturday. Gorzelanny will be recalled from Indianapolis and start against the Brewers' Jeff Suppan. Capps will be reinstated from the 15-day disabled list after missing more than six weeks with right shoulder bursitis. No corresponding roster moves were announced.