Final: Phillies 3, Pirates 2
WP: Cole Hamels (3-3, 3.53 ERA) LP: Francisco Liriano (1-3, 2.96 ERA) SV: Jonathan Papelbon (7)
Philadelphia, PA – A Phillies' franchise record which stood for 11 years, 10 months, and 13 days has been broken tonight in the team's first win since last Friday against Matt Harvey and the New York Mets.
Appearing in his 211th game as a Phillie, closer Jonathan Papelbon recorded his seventh save of the season and 113th overall to surpass Jose Mesa's franchise record in the category.
Papelbon had 219 saves as a member of the Boston Red Sox from 2005-2011, which also leads their franchise. He is the second player in Major League Baseball history to lead two clubs in saves. The other is Robb Nen, a ten-year, right handed veteran who currently leads both the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants franchises.
The first three innings of tonight's game lacked scoring, but featured two hits for both clubs: Josh Harrison and Francisco Cervelli for the Pirates, Freddy Galvis and Darin Ruf for the Phillies.
Pittsburgh managed to get the first runs of the game in the top of the fifth inning, as center fielder Andrew McCutchen singled with two outs and the bases loaded to score second baseman Neil Walker and shortstop Jordy Mercer.
It didn't take long for the Phillies to answer back, however. Right fielder Jeff Francoeur and third baseman Cesar Hernandez both singled to lead off the next half inning. Catcher Carlos Ruiz followed with his third double of the season to score Francoeur and advance Hernandez to third base. Two batters later, center fielder Ben Revere grounded out to second base to score the runner from third and subsequently tie the game at two. Then, Galvis singled for his second hit of the game to give the Phils a 3-2 advantage.
Hamels lasted seven innings tonight, allowing two earned runs on just five hits and one walk. He struck out nine batters, four of which came after his first two innings of work. Hamels' 115 thrown pitches were his most since throwing 114 on April 27 at St. Louis.
The Pirates' starter, Francisco Liriano, also lasted seven innings. He surrendered three earned runs, and allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out six. Two of those six strikeouts came from second baseman Chase Utley, who had struck out in just 17 of his 116 plate appearances entering tonight.
Right handed reliever Ken Giles threw a scoreless inning of relief in the top of the eighth inning, striking out one batter. Pittsburgh's Rob Scahill retired the Phillies in order the next half inning, which set up a save situation for Papelbon in the ninth.
Becoming the franchise leader in saves for Papelbon did not come easy for the 34-year-old right hander native to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With one out recorded, two batters after Cervelli walked to lead off the inning, Papelbon threw a pick-off attempt over the head of Ruf at first base to allow pinch-runner Steve Lombardozzi Jr. to advance to third base.
The next batter in the top of the ninth, Mercer, flied out to Francoeur in foul territory. Down just one run and with two outs now recorded, Lombardozzi Jr. on third decided to tag on the fly-out in an attempt to tie the game at three runs. He was beamed-down at home by Francoeur however, and once Ruiz tagged him for the final out, Papelbon thus became the franchise's all-time leader in saves.
As Jake Kaplan of The Philadelphia Inquirer points out, Papelbon's first career save was also against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This occurred back on April 5, 2012, a 1-0 game on Opening Day in which starter Roy Halladay threw eight shutout innings.
At 332 career saves, Papelbon ranks 13th in Major League Baseball history, nine saves behind Hall of Famer and 17-year veteran, Rollie Fingers.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Liriano | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2.96 |
| Cole Hamels | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3.53 |
- Liriano: L; 105 pitches, 56 strikes; 10 groundouts, 1 flyouts; 30 faced batters
- Hamels: W; 115 pitches, 78 strikes; 8 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 28 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Pirates
- Rob Scahill (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.59 ERA
Phillies
- Ken Giles (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.59 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.26 ERA
At the Plate:
- Freddy Galvis: 2-3, RBI, BB, .336 AVG
- Carlos Ruiz: 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, .239 AVG
- Andrew McCutchen: 1-3, 2 RBI, .231 AVG
What's Next
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.
