Pirates 11, Phillies 7
WP – James McDonald(7-3, 2.44)
LP – Raul Valdes (2-1, 3.24)
On a night that marked the return of Philadelphia’s favorite son Chase Utley, the Phillies bullpen had a tall task ahead of them.
Despite a solo home run in his first at-bat, Utley couldn’t even overcompensate for the pitching woes as the Phillies fell to the Pirates 11-7 on Wednesday evening.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead courtesy of solo home runs from Utley and Carlos Ruiz. But the Pirates rattled off eight straight runs on their way to victory.
Pirates catcher Michael McHenry sent a poorly placed Raul Valdes fastball in the stands to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. It marked the second consecutive night that McHenry went deep.
The Pirates pushed five more runs across the plate including three in the fifth inning. All five runs were charged to Joe Savery.
The Phillies did close the gap and make it a game at 8-7.
Jimmy Rollins continued his stellar play as he laced an RBI triple to cut the lead to 8-5.
In the end, it wasn’t enough. Andrew McCutchen crushed a two-run home run off Chad Qualls to seal the win for the Pirates.
The Phillies will send Kyle Kendrick to the hill tomorrow afternoon. He will be opposed by former Yankee A.J. Burnett in a 1:05 start.
2B: Pence (15). 3B: Rollins (3). HR: Utley (1), Ruiz (11).
TTB 