Pirates 4 - 3 Phillies
Final
  for this game

Cole, Marte lead Pirates past Phillies

May 12, 2015 - 5:05 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Gerrit Cole pitched seven strong innings, Starling Marte hit a three-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

Cole (5-1) gave up two runs, six hits and two walks and struck out six to remain unbeaten on the road in his last seven starts.

"Good starts are nice," said Cole. "Whatever the numbers may be, we are just trying to win ball games."

Gregory Polanco was 2-for-4 with a walk and scored two runs for the Pirates, who are back at .500 (16-16) after winning their third straight game.

Philadelphia pulled within a run when Odubel Herrera hit the first homer of his major league career, a solo blast to right field in the ninth off Mark Melancon. The Pirates closer gave up a one-out single to Carlos Ruiz, but retired the next two batters to earn his eighth save of the season.

Grady Sizemore had two RBI singles for the Phillies, who fell to 1-3 on their 10-game homestand and have lost 10 and 13 overall.

Phillies starter Jerome Williams (2-3) needed 85 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up four hits, all for extra bases, including the Marte home run, and walked two.

A two-out walk hurt Cole in the first inning, with Chase Utley coming around to score the game's first run after back-to-back singles by Ryan Howard and Sizemore.

Two walks by Williams in the third inning proved costly as both runners scored on Marte's two-out blast to left-center field.

"I left the curveball up and he hit it out," said Williams. "It was just one bad pitch."

The Phillies, with the help of another walk and a hit batsman, trimmed their deficit on Sizemore's blooper in the sixth. Cody Asche, who singled in his first two at-bats, grounded out to end the inning.

Andrew McCutchen hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put the Pirates up 4-2.

Game Notes

Following the game, Asche was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he will transition from third base to left field. The move clears a roster spot for right-hander Sean O'Sullivan, who will come off the disabled list Tuesday to start for the Phillies ... The Pirates have won nine of their last 11 games in Philadelphia.






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