Though they were coming off of a loss, the Phillies came into tonight's game winners of five of their last six series. Most recently, they had won two out of three from the Washington Nationals. Tonight, they began a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates came off of a sweep this weekend of the Cubs and were looking to maintain their possession of the second Wild Card spot, a half game ahead of Atlanta. Kyle Kendrick looked to build on his recent performance against the Braves when he threw seven shutout innings while the Pirates went with left-hander Jeff Locke.
The Game: The Phillies were held hitless for a few innings, but they were the first to score. Fast forward to the bottom of the fourth. Jimmy Rollins smacked a one-out triple to right field. Following a Chase Utley ground out, Ryan Howard snuck a ball through the shift, off the glove of Neil Walker. His single scored Rollins from third, making it a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Rollins left the game with a strained left hamstring. Freddy Galvis replaced him in the fifth.
The Pirates wouldn't let that lead last long. After giving up a leadoff single to Brent Morel, pitcher Jeff Locke came to the plate. Locke bunted the ball softly to third and Maikel Franco made a stellar play to catch the lead runner at second. Unfortunately, it wouldn't matter as Starling Marte, who had a single and double already, mashed a two-run homer into the seats in left center, giving the Buccos a 2-1 lead.
Kyle Kendrick ended the seventh inning retiring eight straight, with 111 pitches. Surprisingly, Sandberg allowed him to go out for the eighth and it backfired. Andrew McCutchen reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Maikel Franco. Neil Walker followed with a single of his own to make it a 3-1 Pirates lead. Russell Martin singled and that was all for Kendrick. Jake Diekman came in and immediately surrendered a sac fly to Gaby Sanchez to score Neil Walker, extending the lead to 4-1. Jordy Mercer took a Diekman pitch down the right field line for a double to score Martin to make it 5-1. Mercer advanced to third on a fielding error by Byrd in right. Brent Morel doubled to left and scored Mercer, chasing Diekman from the game with still just one out. 6-1 Pirates. Luis Garcia came in to get the final two outs via the strikeout.
The Phillies made it interesting in the bottom of the eighth after Jeff Locke's night was over. Carlos Ruiz struck out to start the inning then Maikel Franco singled to center. Domonic Brown was then hit by a pitch and Ben Revere reached first thanks to a fielding error from Jordy Mercer. With Freddy Galvis due up, Sandberg opted for the switch-hitting Cesar Hernandez, who hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Franco and cutting the deficit to 6-2. Chase Utley followed with a two-run triple to right field, scoring Brown and Revere, bringing the Phils to within two at 6-4. With Utley at third, Ryan Howard got hit by a pitch. The Phils went for speed at first, replacing Ryan Howard on the basepaths with Tony Gwynn Jr. The threat ended when Marlon Byrd grounded to short to stop the bleeding after a three-run inning from the Phils.
Unfortunately, the Phillies couldn't put anything else on the board against Pirates closer Mark Melancon in the ninth, falling by a score of 6-4.
Notable Offensive Statistics:
- Jimmy Rollins: 1-2, 3B, R, left game w/hamstring injury
- Chase Utely: 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI
- Ryan Howard: 1-3, RBI, HBP, 2 K's
Impact: Kyle Kendrick put together a second straight good outing through seven innings. After tossing seven shutout innings against Atlanta his last time out, he threw seven innings of two-run ball tonight. He also matched his career-high in strikeouts with eight. The eighth inning? A different story. Kendrick ran into some trouble and after being yanked, Jake Diekman allowed each of the two runners on base to score, recording just one out while allowing an earned run of his own. Luis Garcia struck out two hitters to end the Pirates four-run eighth. Putting Kendrick out there with 111 pitches in the eighth is a questionable choice in itself by Sandberg, especially since he was showing signs of wear in the seventh. The Phils made things a little interesting in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a two-run triple from Utley, but the poor pitching in the top of the inning was the difference in the end.
Up next: The Phillies and Pirates continue their series on Tuesday night at 7:05. David Buchanan (6-7, 3.95) will go for Philadelphia while Pittsburgh sends Edison Volquez (11-7, 3.31) to the mound.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
