Pittsburgh Pirates Power Themselves Back Into Win Column In Philadelphia
By Matt Gajtka
Sep 10, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) reacts as he crosses home plater after hitting an inside the park home run during the fifth inning a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The second half of the season has been up-and-down for the Pittsburgh Pirates, with every surge seemingly followed by a slump, but that’s not going to be good enough to get them to the playoffs.
Maybe they’re on the way to fixing that issue, because they turned in a relatively low-drama 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, rebounding from a potentially-deflating one-run loss the night before.
The Pirates (76-69) dropped four straight to start September, but they’ve now won five of their past six, boosting them to sole possession of the National League’s second wild-card spot with 17 games to go. They continue to lead the Brewers and Braves by 1 1/2 games and pulled within 3 1/2 of the first-place Cardinals in the NL Central division.
Unlike Tuesday’s 4-3 loss, the Bucs got the early jump on the last-place Phillies (67-78) on Wednesday. Russell Martin, who drove in three runs on the night, lined a two-run single against starter Jerome Williams in the first inning.
Although Philadelphia jumped ahead 3-2 on Williams’ improbable two-RBI hit of his own in the fourth, Andrew McCutchen and Martin teamed up to provide the winning rally in the fifth. McCutchen blasted a center-cut fastball from Williams off the high wall in left-center field, coming all the way around for an inside-the-park homer when the ball caromed past a leaping Ben Revere into right-center.
That shot, McCutchen’s team-leading 23rd, knotted the score at 3. Two batters later, Martin drove his ninth homer deep into the left-field bleachers to restore the Pirates’ advantage.
They tacked on two more runs in the sixth off reliever Luis Garcia, who allowed back-to-back leadoff singles to Jordy Mercer and pinch-hitter Andrew Lambo to set the scene. Josh Harrison followed with an RBI double down the right-field line on an 0-2 pitch, then Starling Marte stayed hot with a run-scoring single.
Cesar Jimenez came on to get Martin to bounce into an inning-ending double play, but the Pirates’ inability to add on further didn’t matter because of expert bullpen work the rest of the way. In a throwback to last season’s Shark Tank excellence, four relievers combined to retire the final 12 Phillies in order.
Tony Watson and Mark Melancon predictably handled the eighth and ninth, respectively, but recent call-ups Bobby LaFromboise and John Holdzkom were just as solid in the sixth and seventh innings. For a team that’s squandered more than its share of late leads this year, the calm finish was much appreciated.
The Pirates’ potent offense continued to churn out runs, getting five or more for the fifth time in the past week. They had 13 hits on Wednesday, with Harrison, Marte, McCutchen, Martin, Mercer and Travis Snider rapping out two apiece.
It appeared Pittsburgh would need several runs to win as starting pitcher Vance Worley meandered his way through five innings. Worley allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two.
Phillies third baseman Cody Asche doubled – his first of two hits – and scored on Wil Nieves‘ single in the second, getting the home team on the board. Worley was on the verge of escaping an ugly fourth inning until Williams lashed a fastball to right-center with the bases loaded and two out.
The Pirates can win the four-game set with a victory Thursday night. Francisco Liriano will oppose former Pittsburgh ace A.J. Burnett in the series finale.