Game 23 Recap
Pittsburgh Pirates lost the opener of a 3 game weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight,6-5. C Chris Coste had a big night(3 hits, 3 rbi) and got the Phillies the lead in the 1st with a 2 run double. LH Zach Duke battled all night over his 6 innings vs a very good hitting lineup, going 6 IP, 9 hits, 6 runs while walking 2 and striking out 2 as well.
The Phillies added two more runs in the 3rd with CF Jayson Werth hitting a solo shot followed by Coste’s rbi single. It quickly became 6-0 in the 4th after two more runs. The Pirates came to life against Phillies RH SP Adam Eaton in the 4th. LF Jason Bay homered to left, red hot RF Xavier Nady doubled home another run and 3b Doug Mientkiewicz ended Eaton’s night with a run scoring double. The Phillies SP did not have a strong performance! Eaton’s totals- 3 2/3 innings,5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. RH Chad Durbin came in and got a huge out when SP Zach Duke lined out, 6-3 Phillies.
The game settled down until Nady drove in 2 more runs with a single in the 5th. The game became a battle of the pens and the Pirates got a runner to 2nd in the 8th but failed to score. Phillies closer Brad Lidge was on in the 9th with 2 strikeouts to earn his 6th save.
Star of the Game-
Phillies C Chris Coste- 3 hits, 3 rbi
2nd guess?-Pirates Manager John Russell for allowing Duke to hit in the 4th with the Pirates in a big inning of a 6-3 game
Pirates Notes-
C Ryan Doumit has started 15 of 23 games….. Pirates ran a fireworks promotion to draw almost 24,000 fans, the biggest attendance number since opening day… CF Nate McLouth was hitless for the 4th consecutive game after starting the season on a 19 game hit streak, while Nady extended his own batting streak to 12 games with 2 hits
Next Game-
Pirates RH Matt Morris(0-3) vs Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick(1-2)
