The Pittsburgh Pirates appear ready to throw in the towel on the 2016 season and turn their sights toward competing in 2017 and the years to follow. Quinn went 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk and two runs scored in a 5-3 Phillies loss against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Asher, who had a 9.31 ERA in seven starts with the Phils a year ago, has allowed just two earned runs in 12 1/3 innings (1.46 ERA) in his two big league starts in the last week.
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Pittsburgh remained six games behind the Mets for the second NL wild card.
“I’m disappointed. There’s just not enough time to recover”, Cole said, via MLB.com. “It’s not what we needed”. Quinn, an accomplished base stealer and the Phillies’ second-round draft pick in 2011, could be a fixture in the outfield next season.
In the sixth inning, Joseph hit his 19th home run, a solo shot off Drew Hutchison.
“It always feels good to get the first one out of the way”, Quinn said of the hit. “I’ve been good with that. But I think I am helping the team a little bit”.
Stewart, meanwhile, went through an extensive rehab, spending almost a month with Double-A Altoona in order to rest his left knee enough to be a contributor down the stretch run at the major-league level.
Once one of the most feared hitters in baseball, Howard is limping toward the finish line of his final season with the Phillies. Even though he received a no-decision in the game, Nova was excellent. A previously impenetrable home team, having won 62% of their home games in the previously menacing confines of PNC Park since 2013, on the Cardinals have had more success on their own home field than the Pirates had coming into this year.
When Reading’s season ended, the Phillies promoted Quinn to the big leagues as part of the September roster expansion. First, Cameron Rupp doubled in Maikel Franco, and then Aaron Altherr reached base on a David Freese error.
“He hit the ball hard”, Mackanin said. I’d like to get my average up.
“There were some times where we were close”, Cole said. He injured his ribcage before spring training, strained his right triceps in June and first felt elbow discomfort in August. It was McCutchen’s 21st homer of the season.
After scuffling against Ivan Nova (the Pirates starter struck out all nine batters in the lineup in the game’s first four innings) the Phillies rallied back a half inning earlier to put Gomez in position to nail down the win. They try to keep it professional, but they take them personal.
But unless they’re pitching seven-plus innings like their ’11 counterparts, the current rotation also has to rely on their ‘pen to get their portion of the game’s 27 outs, too.
The night was a mixed bag for Pirates rookie second baseman Adam Frazier, who gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the third inning but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
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In the top of the ninth inning Sean Rodriguez was called upon to pinch hit.
