A.J. Burnett got his second opportunity this season to face off against his former team. Burnett, the Opening Day starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013, contemplated retirement this offseason before choosing to sign a short deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Back in the summer, when the Phillies took the trip up to PNC Park, the veteran right-hander had a shot against the team he led to the playoffs for the first time in over twenty seasons. In that outing, Burnett tossed seven strong innings, but ultimately came up short, as he was handed the loss in that matchup. Now, with his new home crowd surrounding him, A.J. got one more shot against his former teammates in the final game of a four-game set between the Pirates and Phillies. How would he fare against former counterpart Francisco Lirianio a second time around?
The Game: Inning number two saw the first bit of offense break out between the two teams. After Neil Walker was called out on a third strike, Russell Martin continued his hot streak by singling into center field. The next batter, Starling Marte, was nailed with a pitch, and put two runners on base. That was when Ike Davis opened the scoring with an RBI base knock, scoring Martin to give Pittsburgh the 1-0 lead.
From there, both pitchers were locked in. Up through inning number five, Francisco Liriano had struck out eight Phillies batters, and the home squad was silent, aside from a couple of singles in the third frame. Meanwhile, Burnett settled in well enough to allow just a pair of baserunners up into the fifth. The sixth, however, may have been the turning point in the contest.
Travis Snyder led off with a single, while Andrew McCutchen doubled to open up that sixth inning. The Pirates would then score a run in each of their next three at bats. The first came on a Neil Walker double out to Ben Revere in center. Russell Martin then lifted a ball deep enough to Darin Ruf to record the sacrifice fly. Finally, Gregory Polanco, who replaced an injured Starling Marte, singled in Walker to give his team the 4-0 lead on Burnett.
Luis Garcia, Antonio Bastardo, and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez pitched the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings in relief of starter A.J. Burnett. Each had scoreless appearances, with only two Pirates reaching base. Liriano, on the other hand, pitched through the eighth inning. He would punch out a total of twelve batters en route to one of best games of the season.
The Phillies did make it a game in the ninth, with Marlon Byrd and Ryan Howard each reaching base against Jared Hughes. This forced Clint Hurdle to put closer Mark Melancon in the game with two runners on base with nobody out. He'd strike out Darin Ruf immediately, but allowed Carlos Ruiz to single into left field for the Phillies first run of the game. Chase Utley would then pinch hit, but a strikeout on a 1-2 pitch recorded the second out. Grady Sizemore then came in as the last hope, pinch-hitting for Freddy Galvis. However, he'd pop up the first pitch into foul territory for the final out. With the loss, the Phillies recorded their third straight loss against the Pirates.
Notable Offensive Performances:
Carlos Ruiz: 2-for-4, 1 RBI
Phillies Lineup: 6 total hits, 12 strikeouts
Neil Walker: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 run scored
Up Next: The Miami Marlins come to town, most likely without their star player after this pitch in Milwaukee tonight (WARNING: Difficult to watch for some). Cole Hamels gets the nod for Philadelphia, while Henderson Alvarez will be the starting pitcher for the Marlins in some 7:05 action. Miami currently sits just five games behind the Pirates for the final Wild Card slot.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
