Marte’s blast backs Cole’s solid start as Pirates down Phillies

One swing turned the tide for good.

Starling Marte connected on a 1-2 curveball that stayed up in the zone. It sailed over the left-center field wall in a hurry. The Pirates never looked back.

Behind a strong outing from Gerrit Cole, the Pirates used the three-run blast by Marte to down the Phillies, 4-3, in Monday's opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies opened the scoring in the first inning. After a two-out walk to Chase Utley and a single by Ryan Howard, Utley scored on an RBI single by Grady Sizemore.

The Pirates were able to strike back in the third, as a two-out, three-run home run by Marte put Pittsburgh in front.

Williams pitched five innings allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The Phillies got a run back in the sixth. Freddy Galvis led off the inning with a walk and Howard was hit by a pitch with one out. Sizemore then dropped a bloop single into left-center field for his second RBI hit of the night, cutting the Pirates lead to one.

The Pirates added a run in the seventh, as Andrew McCutchen drove in Gregory Polanco with a sacrifice fly.

Cole finished his solid outing after the seventh, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts over his seven innings, good enough for his fifth win of the season.

The Phillies cut the lead to one again in the ninth as Odubel Herrera belted his first major-league home run to right to lead off the inning.

They also did manage to get the tying run on base but could not advance him past first as Mark Melancon closed out the game.

Monday's loss marked the third straight for the Phillies and sent them to 11-22 on the season. The series continues on Tuesday night as the Phillies meet the Pirates for the second of four games. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Kevin Durso is a contributing writer and editorial assistant for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.