The Pittsburgh Pirates lose the first of a three game series to cross-state rivals the Philadelphia Phillies in a 7-2 Friday-night snoozer.
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FINAL: Philadelphia Phillies 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
W – Jeremy Hellickson (5-1) L – Trevor Williams (2-3)
Takeaways
- In Spring Training, Trevor Williams battled Tyler Glasnow for that last roster spot and lost. When Jameson Taillon went on the DL for testicular cancer, Williams, working for the bullpen, was added to the starting rotation. He had a difficult start in LA but bounced back since. He was efficient, with a 9-pitch first inning and a 12-pitch fifth inning, and delivered five solid innings before giving up two runs in the the sixth to outfielder Aaron Altherr and first baseman Tommy Joseph respectively that gave the Phillies a one-run lead. He threw 93 pitches, 68 for strikes in 5.2 innings.
- The team effort on the pick off of centerfielder Odubel Herrera in the 6th inning. Sure, it was a basic baseball play, but sometimes, simple is perfect. #Teamwork #BeautifulBaseball
Throwaways
- The Bucs racked up 2 runs in the 1st inning, Josh Harrison on a Josh Bell double and Bell on a throwing error that allowed Francisco Cervelli to reach first. After that, though, the bats fell silent.
- Fielding errors in the 9th – First Josh Bell misses a fly ball in right, then David Freese overthrows first allowing third baseman Maikel Franco and short stop Freddy Galvis to reach base.
- Tony Watson – he gave up a lead-off pop up hit and then a home run to Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp. #Ugh
Line of the Night
Josh Bell was a bright spot in an otherwise quiet night – in 4 at-bats he scored 1 run, had 2 hits and 1 RBI.
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Pirates suffer a let down to the Phillies and lose 7-2. Who is your player of the game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 20, 2017
The Pennsylvania rivalry continues at 4:05 p.m. tomorrow at PNC Park when Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova (3-3) takes on Phillies’ Vince Velasquez (3-2).
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