Phillies Can't Slow Down McCutchen, Pirates In 8-2 Rout
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies were all but out of their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after just one rough inning.
Pittsburgh jumped on Roberto Hernandez in the first inning, scored four runs on five hits, and sent nine men to the plate Friday in an 8-2 rout of Philadelphia.
"Everything went wrong," Hernandez said. "I couldn't get the ball down, and everything I threw was flat."
All the runs scored with two outs against Hernandez, who threw 45 pitches in his inning.
"It sets a tough tone," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "You feel like you're behind the eight ball early."
Philadelphia couldn't overcome the early deficit. Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs for the Pirates.
"We were just trying to see (Hernandez) up," McCutchen said. "See something out over the plate, and we got the pitches."
Mercer had two of Pittsburgh's 13 hits, and each of the Pirates' eight position players who started the game had at least one.
Hernandez (3-8) settled down and pitched 5 2-3 innings to spare the bullpen a bit. He gave up five runs, 10 hits and four walks, and struck out three. Hernandez was pulled in the sixth after he walked Starling Marte with two outs.
"Fortunately, he was able to pitch six innings," Sandberg said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Gerrit Cole (7-4) made his second start since coming off the disabled list, after he had right shoulder fatigue, and showed signs of progress after he allowed the New York Mets to score five runs in four innings on Saturday.
Cole threw just 80 pitches in five shutout innings and allowed only one hit. He walked one and struck out five.
"Today, I just felt more like myself." Cole said.
While Cole took a step forward on the mound, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle also saw a sign of maturity from his young starter. After five innings, Cole told Hurdle he felt soreness in his right lat. That ended his fine start.
"We'll probably know a little bit more (Saturday)," Hurdle said. "I don't think anybody is overly alarmed right now."
Marte got the Pirates' first-inning surge going with a one-out single, but he was thrown out at the plate by shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who fielded a hit by McCutchen in shallow left that bounced off the glove of third baseman Cody Asche.
After Neil Walker walked, Russell Martin and Josh Harrison connected for RBI singles. Mercer drove in two runs with a single after Gaby Sanchez walked, giving the Pirates a 4-0 lead.
Hurdle stressed a patient approach, heading into the matchup with Hernandez, and that paid immediate dividends for his hitters.
"Even with trying to be aggressive and score a run early we kept going," Hurdle said. "We got some big hits down the road."
They added a run in the fourth when Gregory Polanco singled and scored on McCutchen's double to left.
Philadelphia got on the board in the sixth against reliever Stolmy Pimentel, who walked three of the four hitters he faced and didn't record an out.
After Pimentel walked Ben Revere and Rollins, Chase Utley singled down the right field line to make it 5-1.
Jared Hughes replaced Pimentel after a walk to Ryan Howard. Marlon Byrd hit into a double play that scored Rollins, before Hughes struck out Asche looking.
Ryan Howard, who has struggled at the plate this season, along with the rest of his teammates, knew the chances for a win were damaged during the Pirates' big first inning.
"The way things have gone this year, it's tough for us to come back from that kind of deficit," Howard said. "There's no dancing around it. We've had to scratch and claw to get runs all year."
The Pirates answered Philadelphia's two runs with two in the seventh when Mercer doubled in Martin and Sanchez.
McCutchen drove in his second run in the eighth with his second double, scoring Polanco from first after he led off with a walk.
Justin Wilson, Tony Watson and Jeanmar Gomez each worked a perfect inning to finish off Pittsburgh's win.
NOTES: Philadelphia has lost only twice on Independence Day in 11 years, both times at PNC Park. The Phillies' previous July 4 defeat was 8-5 in 2009. ... The attendance of 38,977 was a Pirates record for a July 4 game. ... Pittsburgh RHP Edinson Volquez (6-6, 4.07 ERA) matches up with Philadelphia RHP David Buchanan (4-4, 4.86 ERA) on Saturday in the second game of the three-game series.
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