This game was sort of a perfect archetype of a good team beating a bad team. Gerrit Cole constantly seemed on the edge of losing control tonight, but the Phillies just stood no chance against him. Cole ended up getting more fly balls than usual, but he still got through seven innings, struck out six, walked two, and held the Phillies to two runs on six hits. The Pirates never really got anything going against Jerome Williams, but Starling Marte hit a three-run homer and the Pirates didn’t need much else. The Phillies are just a punchless and hapless team right now, and the Pirates managed to take advantage of them tonight.
Also: Mark Melancon tried his damndest to cough up the 4-2 lead. His velocity seems to be back up around 90 mph, but I still think he’s a ticking time bomb.
(Sorry, I don’t have much else to say here, I suddenly came down with an awful head cold this afternoon and am falling asleep while I type this — the Pirates didn’t play all that, but they won, and that’s all that really matters.)
Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
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