The growing pains of a young catcher would not sink the Phillies on Tuesday night, though.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves in familiar territory yet again in Philadelphia, in a close game against a bad team with no offense to speak of.
“We’ve been scratching and clawing every game”, Hurdle said. Shortstop Jordy Mercer then rocketed a double the other way to the corner in right field, putting runners at second and third with nobody out for Rodriguez.
In eight starts for the Pirates, Nova has a 2.41 ERA and 43 strikeouts to three walks.
Rodriguez’s home run was his career-high 13th of the season and first since August 14.
“You don’t necessarily need a hit right there”, Rodriguez said. “All I know is, I put in a good workout in my offseason and worked really hard to prove I could play baseball every day”.
Pirates reliever Juan Nicasio struck out five in two scoreless innings. Hours later, before a 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, Cole tugged on the bill of his sweat-stained cap and tried to summarize a year in which he three separate injuries and went to the DL three times.
“I’m anxious to see him”, Mackanin said before the game.
“It always feels good to get the first one out of the way”, Quinn said of the hit.
Perhaps Hurdle was trying to light a fire under a team that had lost five straight and 13 of 15.
Pittsburgh already traded Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese from its starting rotation this year, but it can turn to a handful of options following Cole’s latest injury. He has not pitched more than six innings in any of his Major League starts.
Since coming over from the Yankees, his ERA is down, his walks are down, his WHIP is down and his home runs are down.
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin told reporters that Alfaro will get more starts in the final days of the regular season. The starting pitching staff, which was one of the game’s deepest a year ago, is a fading photograph of itself. While the big righty was working in the mid-to-upper nineties, he surrendered five earned runs on four hits and four walks in just two innings of work.
An Adam Frazier RBI single gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Josh Bell followed with a double of his own that could have scored Frazier. The ball squirted away, allowing Roman Quinn to score.
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Pirates: Pittsburgh placed right-hander Gerrit Cole on the 60-day disabled list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Following up an excellent 2015 season, Cole regressed a tad, notably in strikeout rate. Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Pirates acquired LHP Wade LeBlanc from Seattle in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later… However, that standard he set was shattered this year, as his ERA ballooned up to 5.46 and he allowed four or more runs in 10 of his 21 outings and walking four or more batters in as many games as well.
