Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 30, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 7

THE STORY: For the first time in years, the Pittsburgh Pirates were buyers at the trade deadline. Pittsburgh hopes to have the newly acquired Derek Lee in the lineup Sunday as it tries to avoid being swept by the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies. Lee and the rest of the Pirates have their work cut out for them, though. Phillies rookie righthander Vance Worley takes the hill seeking a sixth straight win.

TV: 1:35 pm. ET, CS (Philadelphia), ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Vance Worley (7-1, 2.02 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Jeff Karstens (8-5, 2.41).

Worley is making a strong case for National League Rookie of the Year honors. He is 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA over his last five starts and hasn’t lost since May 29. The 23-year-old allowed two runs and three hits in his first complete game Tuesday against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Worley has allowed only one run in his last 22 innings at home, where he is 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA in six starts. This will be his first start against Pittsburgh. Karstens, who had won a career-best five straight decisions before losing to Cincinnati on June 20, was part of the epic 19-inning loss to Atlanta on Tuesday. He allowed three runs and six hits in five innings - his shortest outing since May 29. The righthander is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA over his last two outings. He has a 3.32 ERA in four appearances - two starts - against the Phillies. Hunter Pence, the newest member of the Phillies, is hitting.421 (8-for-19) with a homer and two RBIs against Karstens.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (67-39): The Phillies’ offense, which has struggled at times this season, may become feared once again with the righthanded Pence hitting behind Howard. Pence's impact was obvious on Saturday as Howard went 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, and was a triple shy of becoming the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since 2004 (David Bell). Pence, meanwhile, went 1-for-5 in his first game since being acquired from Houston on Friday. He added an RBI single in the eighth after Howard drew an intentional walk. Chase Utley appears to be fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for 46 games. He has 10 extra-base hits in his last 11 games. Utley was a double shy of the cycle Friday.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (54-51): The Pirates have long been looked upon as a farm system for the rest of baseball. But with a legitimate shot at its first playoff appearance in 19 years, Pittsburgh made a move Saturday night, acquiring veteran first baseman Derek Lee from the Orioles for a low-level minor league prospect. Lee is hitting .246 with 12 homers and 41 RBIs, but he’s been on fire recently (.309, 16 RBIs in his last 18 games). He is a huge upgrade over Lyle Overbay, who is mired in a 1-for-21 slump. Overbay is hitting only .227 and may be expendable.

FINAL PITCH: The Pirates are three wins shy of matching their total from last season (57-105).