Marte walk-off in 13th gives Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 victory over Phillies

It took 13 innings, but the Pittsburgh Pirates finally downed the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 on Friday night. Starling Marte hit a single up the middle, splitting Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis, scoring Chris Stewart from second base to give the Pirates their first walk-off victory of the season.

Jeff Locke started for the Pirates in the game and pitched well, lasting six innings while giving up no runs on six hits and one walk. He also struck out two. His ERA now sits under five at 4.90 for the season. Former Pirate Kevin Correia made his first start of the season for the Phillies, tossing 5.2 innings of no run ball on five hits and a walk, striking out four in the process.

After a delay of one hours and 31 minutes due to rain, the game finally got under way. The Phillies got two men on base in each of the first three innings, but couldn’t capitalize. The Pirates got a hit in three of the first four innings, but also couldn’t capitalize. Correia was relieved in the sixth when the Pirates had men on first and second, but Pedro Alvarez flew out to left field to end the threat. Arquimedes Caminero relieved Locke after six innings and was the first of six Pirates’ relievers to pitch in the contest. Philadelphia used six relievers as well. The Pirates had the bases loaded in the eighth and the Phillies had the bases loaded the following inning, but neither team could drive in a run.

Finally, in the bottom of the 13th inning, Chris Stewart managed to reach on an infield single with one out. Gregory Polanco proceeded to ground out, which moved Stewart over to second base. Marte then gave the Pirates the victory with a single up the middle for the team’s first walk-off win of the season.

What Stood Out

More from Pirates News

• Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Leadoff Hitters in 2023
• Pittsburgh Pirates: The Rotation is not being Improved
• Pittsburgh Pirates Make Vince Velasquez Signing Official
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Bob Nutting, Please Sell the Team
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Free Agent Starting Pitchers Still Available

There aren’t many positives offensively to take away from a 1-0 game. Polanco was 0-7 and Andrew McCutchen, surprisingly, was 0-6. Polanco only saw 19 pitches in those at-bats while McCutchen only saw 23.

On the other hand, Marte was 3-7 and Josh Harrison was 4-6. The Pirates had 13 total hits to the Phillies 11, but both teams left plenty of men on base. The teams combined to leave 30 men on base and were 1-19 with runners in scoring position.

Jeff Locke pitched deceptively well, as the Phillies managed to continually get men on base but weren’t able to push them across the plate. However, it’s the results that matter, and Locke needed a good start. As a whole, the Pirates’ team ERA now stands at 2.90 on the season, second in all of baseball.

What’s Next

The Pittsburgh Pirates (33-27) take on the Philadelphia Phillies (22-40) Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series. Gerrit Cole (9-2, 1.73 ERA) hopes to continue his sprint towards starting in the National League all-star game as he takes the mound for the Pirates. He’ll be opposed by righty Sean O’Sullivan (1-4, 4.96 ERA) whom the Pirates managed three runs off of the last time they faced him back on May 12th. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM at PNC Park.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates Face Keystone Rival in Weekend Series