Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates open Phillies series with 4-3 win

Starling Marte and Pirates offense provides enough firepower to back Gerrit Cole in series opener

Starling Marte hit a three run homer, Andrew McCutchen added a sac fly, Gerrit Cole turned in yet another quality start, and that was enough for the Pittsburgh Pirates to take the first game in a four game tilt against the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-3.

Cole had gotten off to a shaky start by his standards, allowing the Phillies to score the game’s first run in the bottom half of the first, after walking Chase Utley and surrendering consecutive singles to Ryan Howard and Grady Sizemore, the latter of which scored Utley.  From there, Cole calmed down, with the only other damage coming in the bottom of the 6th. The later frame was eerily similiar to the first. Cole again put two Phillies on the basepaths with a walk to Freddy Galvis and an HBP that put Howard back on base. Again, it was Sizemore doing the damage for the home team. Cole’s final line on the night: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, and 6 strikeouts against 2 walks.

Marte hit his eighth home run of the year came in the third inning off of Phils starter Jerome Williams, who sandwiched a Neil Walker flyout in between walks to Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutchen. Marte took a breaking ball low in the zone and swiftly deposited it in centerfield to push his RBI total to 24 on the year.

McCutchen rounded out the Pirates scoring in the top of the seventh by lifting a fly ball towards Philadelphia outfielder Ben Revere. Polanco, on third due to a throwing error by Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, came home easily. Revere charged the ball hard but the accompanying throw was well too late for a play at the plate.

Mark Melancon came on in the ninth with the Pirates leading 4-2, and promptly gave up a solo home run to Philadelphia rookie Odubal Herrera. Melancon then put another runner on base in Ruiz with one out, only to induce outs from the next two batters to secure the win and pick up his eighth save of 2015.

What Stood Out

Aside from Cole’s start and Starling Marte‘s cannonball, there was a lot to like in this one. Polanco continues to flourish in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored while reaching base three times. Polanco swiped his 10th base as well. While McCutchen went hitless, he was productive with the sac fly.

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Jung ho Kang, whose hot start we wrote about extensively here, continued his hot performance at the dish, going 1-for-3 yet not factoring into any offense. Pedro Alvarez and Jordy Mercer combined to go 0-for-8.

The main focus for Pirates fans will likely be on Melancon. He figures to be unavailable to pitch tomorrow night, having pitched three days in a row. Should a save situation present itself, expect to see Tony Watson take the reins. Should Watson effectively, expect the seeds of doubt to take another step towards full bloom when it comes to who Clint Hurdle chooses to finish games.

What’s Next

A.J. Burnett (1-1, 1.66 ERA) will look to continue his excellent 2015 with a faceoff against his 2014 team. Opposing him will be Sean O’Sullivan (0-1, 4.91 ERA). O’Sullivan has not pitched since April 17th due to spending time on the disabled list with knee tendinitis. Gametime is 7:05 pm EST.