Pirates 11, Phillies 7: Michael McKenry homered for the second straight game and drove in four runs and Andrew McCutchen also went deep as visiting Pittsburgh scored a season high in runs to spoil Chase Utley's debut.
Utley, who had been sidelined with chronically injured knees, received a standing ovation in pre-game introductions as well as prior to his at-bat in the first inning. The five-time All-Star then sent a charge into the Citizens Bank faithful after depositing a 2-2 curveball from James McDonald (7-3) into the seats in right-center field.
Utley, who also showed flexibility in executing a rundown, went 3-for-5 on the night.
McKenry's three-run homer in the second inning ignited the power display and Casey McGehee also went deep in the fourth as the Pirates snapped a three-game losing skid. Pittsburgh's 11 runs were the team's most since it also plated 11 against St. Louis on Sept. 22, 2010.
Although Carlos Ruiz homered for the second straight game, McDonald settled down before running into trouble in the sixth. He allowed four runs on six hits to win for the fifth time in six decisions.
After McDonald added a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning, Pittsburgh busted the game open in the fifth as Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and McKenry had run-scoring singles.
The Phillies staged a rally in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins had an RBI triple and Juan Pierre and Ruiz added run-scoring singles to cut the deficit to one at 8-7. Drew Sutton answered with his second RBI double in as many days before McCutchen's two-run blast took the air out of Philadelphia.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Making his second career start, reliever Raul Valdes (2-1) allowed three runs on a pair of hits in two innings. Valdes was making the spot start after the Phillies used left-handers Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee in a doubleheader versus Tampa Bay on Sunday. ... Slugger Ryan Howard will begin a rehab stint on Thursday with Class-A Lakewood. Howard has been sidelined since Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series after tearing his left Achilles' tendon. ... To make room for Utley on the 25-man roster, the Phillies optioned INF Michael Martinez to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Pittsburgh | Philadelphia | |
James McDonald | Player | Raul Valdes |
Win | W/L | Loss |
5.2 | IP | 2.0 |
3 | Strikeouts | 2 |
6 | Hits | 2 |
6.35 | ERA | 13.50 |
Pittsburgh | Philadelphia | |
Neil Walker | Player | Chase Utley |
3 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 1 |
4 | TB | 6 |
.750 | Avg | .600 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Pittsburgh | 14 | 3 | 25 | .350 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
Philadelphia | 10 | 2 | 19 | .270 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |