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Pittsburgh gets the best of Philly in 12 innings

Jun 4, 2011 - 5:05 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - The woes continue for the Phillies in the Steel City.

Jose Tabata singled home Xavier Paul in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.

After leaving runners in scoring position in both the 10th and 11th innings, the Pirates put together a two-out rally against Danys Baez (1-3). Paul kept the frame alive with a single that landed in front of returning Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino. Paul quickly stole second, then Tabata hit a ball that hopped over the glove of sliding second baseman Chase Utley, sending the Phillies to their third straight loss.

Tabata had tied the game six innings earlier with a sacrifice fly.

Andrew McCutchen had two of Pittsburgh's five hits, while starter Jeff Karstens limited Philadelphia to one run on four hits over seven innings. Daniel Moskos (1-0) tossed one inning of relief to earn his first career major league win.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a better game on a better night in front of better crowd," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a well-pitched game we saw tonight."

Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-3 and scored the lone Phillies run.

Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels recorded more hits than he allowed but still got a no-decision. The left-hander gave up just a McCutchen single with three walks in eight strong frames while going 2-for-3 at the plate.

"I wasn't happy with the way I executed pitches," Hamels said. "I left a lot up and they were able to hit at guys and we played great defense. I think that kind of saved things and made it look good on my end, but it wasn't necessarily the case."

The Phillies are now 12-21 all-time at PNC Park, which opened in the spring of 2001.

Karstens had retired 13 straight batters before Hamels and Rollins led off the sixth with back-to-back singles. After Placido Polanco lined into a double play, Rollins swiped his team-leading 14th base of the season -- called safe on a close play at second -- and Utley followed with a bouncer through the right side, plating the Philadelphia shortstop for a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates tied the game without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the inning. Hamels issued a leadoff walk to Ronny Cedeno, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Karstens and took third on wild pitch before Tabata lofted a fly ball to right.

Pittsburgh stranded two runners in the ninth. After Neil Walker drew a two-out walk, Antonio Bastardo relieved Jose Contreras and promptly issued a free pass to pinch-hitter Garrett Jones before Chris Snyder ended the threat by grounding into a fielder's choice.

Game Notes

The Phillies activated Victorino (right hamstring strain) from the 15-day disabled list on Friday and optioned outfielder John Mayberry Jr. to Triple-A Lehigh Valley...Friday's game marked the first time this season the Phillies fielded their projected 2011 lineup.