Final
Coste's three RBI lead Phillies past Pirates
Apr 26, 2008 - 4:18 AM By Brad Everett PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterPITTSBURGH (Ticker) - If it were up to Chris Coste, he would play the Pittsburgh Pirates much more often.
Coste went 3-for-5 with three RBI, helping the Philadelphia Phillies escape with a 6-5 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night.
It was yet another outstanding performance against Pittsburgh for Coste, a backup catcher who at the age of 35 made an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career this season. In 27 lifetime at-bats against the Pirates, Coste is hitting .481 with a home run and 16 RBI.
Coste, who admitted he experienced shortness of breath and lightheadedness throughout the game, said his performance was fueled by several other hot hitters on a Phillies lineup that has averaged six runs a game in winning five of its past six.
"We have a talented team, top to bottom, so hitting becomes contagious," said Coste, who said he was experiencing flu-like symptoms throughout the game. "When you see guys like (Chase) Utley, (Pat) Burrell and (Jayson) Werth tearing the cover off the ball, it kind of carries over to some of the other guys."
Coste hit a two-run double in the top of the first to give Philadelphia an early lead, and his RBI single in the third upped the advantage to 4-0.
Werth added two hits - including a homer - and two RBI for the Phillies.
Xavier Nady went 2-for-3 with three RBI for the Pirates, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games, but his team lost for the eighth time in 10 games.
"It's frustrating," Nady said. "We get a couple of big hits here and there, good at-bats, but I guess in the big scheme of things, we've got to find a way to get one more run. But it gets frustrating falling on the short end."
In order to get the victory - their fifth in the past six games - the Phillies had to fight off a Pirates club which nearly came all the way back from a 6-0 deficit in the fourth inning.
But after Pittsburgh pulled within 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth, chasing Philadelphia starter Adam Eaton in the process, the Phillies got another solid effort from its bullpen, which gave up two runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings.
With Philadelphia clinging to a 6-5 lead, Tom Gordon (2-2) and J.C. Romero each tossed a scoreless inning before Brad Lidge worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
"We're doing an outstanding job right now," Lidge said of the bullpen, which prior to this contest had hurled 14 consecutive scoreless innings. "Guys are really coming in there and in tough situations, too, and getting it done.
"I think we're all very confident and very comfortable right now and I think that's a big part of a bullpen's success is everyone feeling confident and comfortable with what they're doing."
Zach Duke (0-2) lasted six innings for the Pirates, giving up six runs, nine hits and two walks while striking out two.
"I shot myself in the foot out of the gate in the first inning and that kind of set the tone," Duke said. "If a couple things go differently, if I make a pitch here or make a pitch there, but it just didn't happen tonight. I wasn't real sharp. That's the way it goes."
The lefthander has surrendered at least eight hits in each of his five starts and has allowed 43 in 28 2/3 innings this season.
- NL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PHILADELPHIA 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 10 0
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 8 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: PHI - ADAM EATON, CHAD DURBIN (4TH), TOM GORDON (7TH), J.C. ROMERO
(8TH), BRAD LIDGE (9TH) AND CHRIS COSTE
PIT - ZACH DUKE, TYLER YATES (7TH), DAMASO MARTE (8TH),
Apr 25 10:02 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY XAVIER NADY SCORED JASON BAY AND RYAN DOUMIT.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, X NADY ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 6
PITTSBURGH 5 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.145, 0-FOR-2)
Phillies 6, Pirates 5 Bot 5, 0 OutsApr 25 8:39 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ SCORED XAVIER NADY.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, D MIENTKIEWICZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 6
PITTSBURGH 3 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: B BIXLER (.179, 1-FOR-1)
Phillies 6, Pirates 3 Bot 4, 0 OutsApr 25 8:19 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY XAVIER NADY SCORED RYAN DOUMIT.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, X NADY ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 6
PITTSBURGH 2 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.147, 0-FOR-1)
Phillies 6, Pirates 2 Bot 4, 0 OutsApr 25 8:16 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JASON BAY (5) TO CENTER WITH 1 OUT IN THE
4TH OFF ADAM EATON.
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 6, PITTSBURGH 1
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: R DOUMIT (.344, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Phillies 6, Pirates 1 Bot 4, 0 OutsApr 25 8:14 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JAYSON WERTH SCORED BRADLEY HARMAN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J WERTH ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 6
PITTSBURGH 0 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: C UTLEY (.380, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Phillies 6, Pirates 0 Top 4, 0 OutsApr 25 8:07 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY BRADLEY HARMAN SCORED ERIC BRUNTLETT.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B HARMAN ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 5
PITTSBURGH 0 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: A EATON (.000, 0-FOR-1)
Phillies 5, Pirates 0 Top 4, 0 OutsApr 25 7:58 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CHRIS COSTE SCORED PAT BURRELL.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, C COSTE ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4
PITTSBURGH 0 TOP, 3RD
DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: P FELIZ (.211, 0-FOR-1)
Phillies 4, Pirates 0 Top 3, 0 OutsApr 25 7:43 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JAYSON WERTH (5) TO CENTER WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 3RD OFF ZACH DUKE.
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 3, PITTSBURGH 0
DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: C UTLEY (.385, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Phillies 3, Pirates 0 Top 3, 0 OutsApr 25 7:40 PM - NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PHILADELPHIA 2 2 1 0
PITTSBURGH 0 0 1 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: PHI - ADAM EATON
PIT - ZACH DUKE
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: N MCLOUTH (.333, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
F SANCHEZ (.227, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
J BAY (.270, 4 HR, 7 RBI)
Phillies 2, Pirates 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsApr 25 7:18 PM
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