Final: Pirates 7, Phillies 2
WP: A.J. Burnett (2-1, 1.60 ERA) LP: Sean O'Sullivan (0-2, 5.06 ERA)
Philadelphia, PA – Against former teammate A.J. Burnett, the Philadelphia Phillies (11-23) were bested by the Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16) to extend their losing streak to four games.
The Phillies' first base runner of the game reached in the bottom of the third with one out, when catcher Carlos Ruiz singled on a line drive to right field. That was his fourth career hit in four at-bats against Burnett. Later on, Ruiz was caught stealing and starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan struck out to subsequently end the inning.
Scoring for either club was not a factor until the top half of the fourth inning. With runners on the corners and one out, third baseman Josh Harrison homered to left field to put Pittsburgh up, 3-0. Harrison had not homered since April 21 against the Chicago Cubs, batting just .136 since then.
In O'Sullivan's first start since April 17, coming off being placed on the 15-day disabled list with left knee tendinitis, he lasted five innings, surrendering just the three earned runs from Harrison's blast.
The Phillies didn't get on the board tonight until the bottom of the sixth inning, still trailing by three runs. Pinch hitter Andres Blanco led off the inning with his third double of the season in 26 at-bats. Left fielder Ben Revere followed with his seventh double of the season to score Blanco, and he later advanced to third because of a throwing error from Pirates' right fielder Gregory Polanco. Two batters later, second baseman Chase Utley scored Revere from third base with a ground out RBI to cut their deficit to just one run.
It didn't take long for Pittsburgh to answer back, and ultimately put the game out of reach. The next half inning, in the top of the seventh, Polanco singled to center fielder Odubel Herrera to score Harrison from third and catcher Francisco Cervelli from second. Two batters later, four-time All Star and 2013 National League MVP, center fielder Andrew McCutchen, hit his third home run of the season to give the Pirates a 7-2 advantage.
Game Notes:
- Each of the Pirates' four scored runs in the top of the seventh came off of right handed reliever Luis Garcia. Garcia had allowed just three combined earned runs leading up to tonight over 15.0 innings.
- Right handed reliever Ken Giles threw a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth. He has allowed just one earned run this season over 15 appearances, or 14.1 innings.
- Utley went 1-4 tonight with a run-batted-in. He is now in the midst of a four-game hitting streak. In his previous 26 games, he hit in just seven.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Burnett | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1.60 |
| Sean O'Sullivan | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5.06 |
- Burnett: W; 95 pitches, 65 strikes; 6 groundouts, 5 flyouts; 26 faced batters
- O'Sullivan: L; 88 pitches, 57 strikes; 7 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 21 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Pirates
- Rob Schahill (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.63 ERA
- Arquimedes Caminero (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.20 ERA
Phillies
- Justin De Fratus (6th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.45 ERA
- Luis Garcia (7th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 3.94 ERA
- Ken Giles (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.63 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.35 ERA
What's Next
Wednesday, May 13, 2015: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 pm
- LHP Francisco Liriano (1-2, 2.79 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.68 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Thursday, May 14, 2015: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:05 pm
- RHP Vance Worley (2-2, 4.63 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang (3-3, 2.38 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
