Pirates 6 - 4 Phillies
Final
  for this game

Marte, Pirates top Phillies

Sep 9, 2014 - 4:37 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Starling Marte finished a triple shy of the cycle as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 in the opener of a four-game set.

Marte smacked a two-run homer, while Andrew McCutchen posted three hits and a run scored for Pittsburgh, which has won four in a row on the heels of a four- game losing streak.

Jeff Locke (7-4) struck out nine and allowed a run on three hits over seven innings to notch the win. Mark Melancon fired a 1-2-3 ninth for his 27th save of the season.

"We need to play our best ball and focus on the game we're playing," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.

Kyle Kendrick (8-12) surrendered five runs on nine hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over seven-plus frames for the Phillies.

The Pirates trailed 1-0 before plating two runs in the fifth, and then broke the game open with a four-run eighth.

Brent Morel led off the fifth with a single, but Locke was unable to move him to second with a sacrifice bunt. It didn't matter as Marte stepped up next and golfed his two-run shot into the seats in left-center field.

McCutchen hit an infield single to begin the eighth and advanced to second when Maikel Franco committed a throwing error on the play. He scored on Neil Walker's base hit, and Russell Martin's single put runners on the corners.

Jake Diekman replaced Kendrick on the mound and pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate Walker. Martin scored on Jordy Mercer's double and Morel's two-bagger brought home Mercer to make it 6-1.

Cesar Hernandez's sacrifice fly and Chase Utley's two-run triple in the home half cut the deficit to 6-4.

Earlier, Philadelphia opened the scoring in the fourth when Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out triple and scored on Ryan Howard's single.

Rollins left the game following the triple due to a strained left hamstring.

"I'll check him out as soon as I go in. Obviously, he'll be evaluated tomorrow (Tuesday)," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said of Rollins' injury.

Game Notes

The Phillies have dropped 10 of their last 13 games against the Pirates after winning 16 of the previous 18 contests ... Pittsburgh was 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, while Philadelphia finished 2-for-6.






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