Final: Pirates 4, Phillies 3
WP: Gerrit Cole (10-2, 1.71) LP: Sean O'Sullivan (1-5, 5.08) SV: Mark Melancon (20)
Pittsburgh, PA - Sean O'Sullivan outpitched NL Cy Young contender Gerrit Cole for four innings in the second game of the series between the Phillies and Pirates at PNC Park. However, it was the first two innings, in which O'Sullivan allowed four earned runs, and the lack of production with runners on base that proved to be the Phillies' downfalls in their 4-3 loss.
The Phillies drew first blood against NL ERA leader Gerrit Cole on a Chase Utley sacrifice fly, but promptly gave up the lead in the bottom of the first with a Pirates fielder's choice scoring Gregory Polanco and an RBI single by Josh Harrison.
In the second, Phillies starter Sean O'Sullivan allowed two more runs on RBI base hits from Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen.
The Fightin Phils earned a run back in the fourth when Maikel Franco doubled, advanced to third, and scored on a Freddy Galvis groundout. Cody Asche saved a run in the latter half of the inning by mowing down Polanco at home from left field on a Marte single, keeping the score at 4-2 in favor of the Pirates.
The inning continued as the aptly named Neil Walker took a free pass, loading the bases for Josh Harrison. After a visit from pitching coach Bob McClure, O'Sullivan ended the inning by getting Harrison to ground out to third.
Pirates starter Gerrit Cole made it through six innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) and five hits. He gave way to Arquimedes Caminero, who pitched a scoreless seventh.
In the top of the eighth, Jeff Francoeur drove home Ben Revere from second to make it 3-3 against setup man Tony Watson. Chase Utley's single put runners on the corners with no one out for Ryan Howard, who walked to load the bases for the hot-hitting Maikel Franco. Both Franco and Cody Asche grounded into forces at home, leaving the bases loaded with two outs for Freddy Galvis, 2-3 in the game. Galvis grounded out to second, stranding all three runners despite having the bases full with no one out.
The Pirates took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning, with Mark Melancon on to close. After Carlos Ruiz and Darin Ruf made two quick outs on the ground, Ben Revere battled with Melancon for 10 pitches before finally striking out to close the game.
Gerrit Cole picked up his NL-leading 10th win as the Phils dropped their fifth consecutive game. Against former Phillie A. J. Burnett (6-2, 2.11 ERA), the Phillies send ace Cole Hamels (5-5, 3.19 ERA) to the mound for tomorrow's 1:35 start.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean O'Sullivan | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5.08 |
| Gerrit Cole | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1.71 |
- O'Sullivan: Loss; 104 pitches, 64 strikes; 11 groundouts, 1 flyouts; 29 faced batters
- Cole: Win; 93 pitches, 65 strikes; 3 groundouts, 4 flyout; 23 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Justin De Fratus (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.38 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.12 ERA
Pirates
- Arquimedes Caminero (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.18 ERA
- Tony Watson (8th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1.89 ERA
- Mark Melancon (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.05 ERA
At the Plate:
Phillies
- Ben Revere: 3-5, 2B, .275 AVG
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, 2B, .262 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 2-4, 2B, R, .292 AVG
Pirates
- Starling Marte: 3-4, RBI, .265 AVG
- Gregory Polanco: 2-4, 2B, .251 AVG
- Andrew McCutchen: 1-3, BB, 2 RBI, .284 AVG
What's Next
- Sunday, June 14, 2015: at Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:35 pm
- LHP Cole Hamels (5-5, 3.19 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (6-2, 2.11 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Theo DeRosa (@Derosatheo11) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
