Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 25, 2012 ) Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 8

The Philadelphia Phillies coasted to an 8-3 victory in the series opener, jumping on Pittsburgh’s Jeff Karstens for four runs in the first inning and holding the lead throughout. With the victory, the Phillies evened their season series with the Pirates at 2-2. Pittsburgh, which is 18-10 since May 25, fell two games back of first-place Cincinnati in the National League Central.

Despite a largely punchless offense, the Pirates have remained in playoff contention behind a strong pitching staff that ranks third in the major leagues with a 3.39 ERA. Starters A.J. Burnett and James McDonald are a combined 14-5, and the back-end bullpen combination of Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan has been extremely effective. The injury-ravaged Phillies have been unable to find a rhythm, going 8-15 thus far in the month of June.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh), Comcast Sports (Philadelphia)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Erik Bedard (4-7, 4.13 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Vance Worley (3-4, 2.78 ERA)

Bedard hit a rough patch at the beginning of the month, allowing 14 runs over 14 innings in his first three starts in June. He seemed to recover in a strong effort on Wednesday against Minnesota, allowing one run on four hits in six innings. Bedard has pitched well in his four career starts against Philadelphia (2-1, 1.61 ERA), but he suffered a 1-0 defeat on April 5 in his first outing this year.

Philadelphia is winless in Worley’s last four starts, but it hasn’t been his fault — the right-hander has given up just six earned runs in 24 innings, with his teammates scoring just eight runs in those four games (and allowing five unearned runs on defense). Worley has a pair of no-decisions in his career against the Pirates, including one on April 8. He allowed one earned run on five hits in six innings in that game.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Pirates are 5-19 at Citizens Bank Park since it opened in 2004, dropping 10 of their last 11 games there.

2. The Phillies are a combined 25-for-101 (.248) against Bedard, with OFs Hunter Pence, Juan Pierre and Shane Victorino a combined 0-for-9.

3. Current Pirates are 7-for-33 (.212) against Worley. CF Andrew McCutchen is 2-for-5 with two doubles and a walk.