Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies Box Score on Jul 05, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 5, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole gave up two runs in the first inning and then settled in, going six strong innings while also providing the eventual game-winning hit in the Pirates' 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

The Pirates hit Phillies starter Ben Lively hard in the first three innings, but several long fly balls fell just short of the wall. They finally got to him in the fourth, when a John Jaso single, Josh Bell triple and David Freese sacrifice fly tied the score at 2.

Lively then played a large role in his own demise, issuing a two-out walk to Francisco Cervelli and allowing Jordy Mercer to reach on a dribbler by throwing high to first base, loading the bases.

Cole made his counterpart pay, lacing a two-run single up the middle to break open the game. Those were his first two RBIs of the season and gave him 14 in his five years in the majors.

The Pirates tacked on a run in the sixth inning on an RBI triple by Mercer.

Cole (7-7) made it through six innings to pick up the win, giving up two runs (both earned) and seven hits, throwing 75 of his 113 pitches for strikes. He struck out eight Phillies, including all three outs in the sixth inning.

Filipe Rivero, who turned 26 on Wednesday, pitched around a one-out single for his fifth save of the season.

The Phillies out-hit the Pirates 10-8 but couldn't plate the runs necessary to mount a comeback. Their best chance came in the seventh inning, with runners at second and third and one out, but Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco completed a double play on a fly ball with a rocket strike to the plate to end the inning.

Lively (1-4) was pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning, departing after giving up five hits and four runs (two earned) while throwing 52 of his 84 pitches for strikes. He's still looking for his first win since his MLB debut on June 3.

The Phillies plated two in the first inning on a two-run homer by Maikel Franco, who placed a 2-2 breaking ball five rows deep in the left-field bleachers for his 12th home run of the season.

NOTES: The four-game series culminates Thursday with Phillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson (5-5, 4.48 ERA) going up against Pittsburgh RHP Chad Kuhl (2-6, 5.26). ... The Phillies took the series opener 4-0 before the Pirates responded with a 3-0 win on Tuesday. ... The Pirates are 27-14 against the Phillies since 2012 in the intrastate rivalry. ... Phillies 1B Tommy Joseph collected his first career triple in the third inning, a line drive off the center-field wall.