- The Pirates put another victory into the books last night, coming from behind to win their third straight against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 6-4.
- The game was much more of a pitcher’s duel early than the final score indicates. James McDonald and Cliff Lee hooked up early, and just as happened in Wednesday’s game, the Phillies pitcher won the battle – outlasting his counterpart – but lost the war. The difference was in the bullpens; right now the Pirates pen is outclassing their opponents by a wide margin.
- Things were quiet until the 4th, when Domonic Brown timed a McDonald curve and sent it into right field for a double to score Chase Utley.
- The game moved swiftly into the 6th when Gaby Sanchez homered off of Lee to tie the game. One of the reasons for the Pirates new found success on offense is that Clint Hurdle seems to have found religion when it comes to maintaining the platoon advantage. The fewer at bats that Sanchez and Garrett Jones have against their same-sided opponents, the better off the Pirates will be.
- The witching hour came in the 6th for McDonald, as he walked Kevin Frandsen and allowed consecutive singles to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Hurdle called for Justin Wilson, who got John Mayberry, Jr. to bounce a grounder to Pedro Alvarez, who threw home to get Utley. After Michael McKenry failed to block a pitch in the dirt by oddly trying to stab at it with his glove face down, the Phillies had two runners in scoring position and once again seemed on the verge of a big inning. Wilson minimized the damage by getting Brown to hit a sacrifice fly, which brought in the third Phillies run, and then retired Ezequiel Cabrera on a foul pop-up to Alvarez.
- Once again, a key walk played a large part in the Pirates’ rally. Starling Marte drew a free pass from Lee, and Andrew McCutchen hit a two-out single to move him to second base. The Pirates were living right, as both Sanchez and McKenry came through with bloop singles to center to tie the game.
- Wilson struck out two of the three Phillies he faced in the 7th, including Jimmy Rollins on a 96 mph fastball. Wilson’s velocity continues to ebb and flow, but he got some extra life and movement on his last pitch of the inning.
- Charlie Manuel brought in Phillippe Aumont to pitch the 8th, and once again the Phillies bullpen fell to pieces. Neil Walker struck out, but Aumont hit Clint Barmes, who reached scoring position on Travis Snider’s single. Starling Marte singled to load the bases, and Hurdle sent Garrett Jones up to pinch hit for Brandon Inge. The game was pretty much on the line here, but Manuel apparently dozed off and failed to notice that he had not yet removed Aumont from the game and replaced him with a left-hander to neutralize Jones. The result was a double that effectively won the game for Pittsburgh.
- The Pirates scored again to make it 6-3, and the Phillies added one off of Tony Watson in his two innings of work, but the result was not really in doubt after Jones’ at bat. I am still stunned that Manuel did not bring in a lefty to face him in that situation, regardless of the condition of his bullpen.
- With three consecutive victories, the Pirates won another four game series and are clearly a dangerous team right now. And since I am never shy about using Clint Hurdle as my personal whipping post, it is only fair to point out that he has managed very well during his team’s current run. The schedule does not get any easier, however, with trips to St Louis and Milwaukee to face two red-hot division rivals.
