With a split in the first two games in the series, the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates had two very different agendas going into both tonight and tomorrow night's games. For the Pirates, it was about both maintaining their second Wild Card spot in the National League and chasing down the St. Louis Cardinals in the Central Division. On the other hand, the Phillies are far from playoff contenders, and are instead looking to play spoiler moving toward the end of the season. A handful of victories over their cross-state rivals could help ruin Pittsburgh's season. Game Three would be initially headlined by Vance Worley and Jerome Williams, but would end up being overtaken by some impressive offensive performances.
The Game: Things did not begin well for Williams, as he'd hit the first two batters with pitches. Then, Andrew McCutchen stepped in to the box, and began his memorable night with a bases-loading single. Neil Walker would end up striking out next, but a Russell Martin base knock brought in two runners to open the game's score to 2-0. A walk to Gaby Sanchez would be the last threat against Williams in the inning, but the Phils were down a pair of runs before they even had a chance to bat.
Meanwhile, Vance Worley came back to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since he left the city nearly two years ago. He'd retire the first three players in the Phillies lineup rather quickly, and looked poised to dominate his former teammates. However, his first bit of trouble came in the following inning, when a single by Wil Nieves scored Cody Asche, who had doubled just one at bat earlier. Through two innings, the score stood at 2-1.
Jerome Williams was coming off his worst start in Phillies red, and looked to regain his form from late summer. He'd make a step toward that success by bringing in a few runs for himself in the fourth. Walks to Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis sandwiched a Cody Asche base hit to load the bags with two away. That's when the bat of Williams broke through in the form of a two-run single. That hit put the Phils ahead 3-2.
Inning number five is not only when Andrew McCutchen continued his noteworthy evening, but it was when the Pirates would take the lead for good. With one away, McCutchen laced a ball off the center field wall, one Ben Revere took a bad route on. The ball rolled all the way toward Grady Sizemore in right field, who picked it up and tossed it toward the diamond. However, by that time, the NL MVP had already rounded third and touched home for an inside-the-park home run. While that hit tied the game, Russell Martin's solo shot two batters later put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3.
Luis Garcia replaced Jerome Williams in the sixth, and immediately put himself in danger. Two straight singles to the opposition were followed up by a double and a single to score another couple of runs for the visiting team.
Darin Ruf pinch-hit for Domonic Brown, who left the game with a left shoulder contusion, in the sixth. Cesar Jimenez, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, and Sean O'Sullivan all saw time on the mound for the Phillies. Despite their combined scoreless effort, the Phils would go on the lose the game 6-3.
Notable Offensive Performances
Cody Asche: 2-for-4, 2 runs scored
Andrew McCutchen: 2-for-4, 1 home run, 1 run scored
Russell Martin: 2-for-5, 1 home run, 3 RBIs
Pirates Lineup: 13 total hits
Up Next: The two Pennsylvania ballclubs will wrap up their series with one final night cap, as Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett will square off in 7:05 action.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
