Phillies 4, Pirates 2

Genuinely stunned that the Phillies could potentially split this series with a win today.

Pirates Lineup:
1. Gregory Polanco (L) RF
2. Josh Harrison (R) LF
3. Neil Walker (S) 2B
4. Starling Marte (R) CF
5. Pedro Alvarez (L) 1B
6. Jung Ho Kang (R) 3B
7. Jordy Mercer (R) SS
8. Chris Stewart (R) C
9. Vance Worley (R) P

Cutch have a scheduled day off?

CH said on pregame that Harang tends to dominate teams that over swing aggressively....uh-oh...,

Harang has dominated at CBP this season. An ERA of .084...

I really miss the aggressive swinging Pedro of 2013.

The Patriots lawyers would like everrybody to know that a couple "deflators" are pitching today.

Pitching matchup today very much in the Phillies favor. Last night was not. That's why winning last night was so important.

Worley is not helping his cause at all today.

Allowing the worst scoring team in the majors to win last night and jump on you early today...unbelievable.

Vince Worley ladies and gentlemen....

Edinson Volquez > Vance Worley

Come on Pedro!!

Right side of the infield look like they overslept, today?

You are next, JHay, as the errors encroach on the left side.

Sure don't look like a contending team today.

Getting dominated AGAIN today.

Cards losing again to the Tribe...another wasted opportunity by the Buccos...

Wow! Too nice a day up here for this. See you guys for the 8th.

If I remember correctly, didn't the Buccos pass on Giancarlo (Mike) Stanton to draft Pedro?

Worley making the decision who to move out of the starters role with Morton coming back very easy

Well the only consolation is that i don't have to stay awake in the middle of the night to watch this!
#europeanbucn

Again...just exactly why is Liz on this team?

It's something of a miracle that it's only 4-0.

Just keep playing that .184 average in Mercer, Clint. You wonder why we are not scoring runs. Doesn't any team in the A L want Alvarez. Any team can have him for 1 year of free coffee at Starbucks. You can hide him as a DH. Come to think of it - I don't want to sound greedy. Any team can have him for 1/2 year of free Starbucks coffee. Don't want to over-price Alvarez......Any takers - PLEASE !!!!!!!!

So much for winning this series....

Offense back to struggling....2 runs in their last two games.

So much for beating up on an allegedly rebuilding team. Quality effort by the Pirates the last two games. The weekend at Wrigley will be more of the same.

On their way to being just 1-15 in games they score 2 runs or less. Not the mark of a contending team.

Another "throw-away" day for the Buccos...

35th game and 16th scoring 2 runs or less (46%). 1-15 in those games (Bucs ain't the NY Rangers)

Worley didn't pitch particularly well, but his ERA dropped today. And no run support. Was Liz inserted to ensure the game was out of reach?

Challenge every call Buckner makes. The odds are with you.

Last time I saw this guy pitch I was sitting behind Rene Gayo. He's loud. Real loud.

Sliver of hope, as Papplebon may try again to give us the game?

How depressing is this day!!!

Perhaps when Bastardo returns from the DR, he'll bring back the kind of substance the Braves' McKirahan got suspended 80 games for. Seems often the case that when players go there for family issues, their on-field performance subsequently improves discernibly.

Wait a minute, doesn't he know you're not allowed to pitch a guy three days in a row ?

Marte takes third on indifference. What a coincidence, the Phillies are winning today on indifference.

A single there, would have made this interesting.

What a lackluster effort the last 2 days...

Rob King just stated it perfectly: a lackluster effort today.

Harang, in 29 career starts vs the Bucs, is now 17-8, almost 190 IP, and with an ERA about 4.00.

Hurdle is a little frustrated.

RIP Fran Fisher. Always a comfortable listen. Even for a Pitt fan.

Need one from Cubs to go 3-4 on road trip...was hoping for more wins..Bucs also can take all 3...but Cubs are pretty hot now..

Bucs need to tighten up the defense, especially with K-Dro at first base. He needs to learn when to go for grounders and when to back off and cover the bag to receive an infielder's throw. This offense continues to be inconsistent. Why did McCutchen get a day off today when the Bucs have two scheduled off-days next week? McCutchen seems to be swinging the bat better so it seems like he could have provided some help on the offensive end today.

Clint needs to go all "Hurdle" on this team after today and this lackluster series. These Pirates do NOT look serious half the time...and half the time won't get them another Wild Card, let alone division. Very glad I'm going away for the weekend and can't pay attention. Right now, the Bucs are a huge waste of time. VERY UNNERVING!!

Bucs offense is a great example of a bimodal distribution. Almost half of their games (46%) they score 2 runs or less and the other half (54%) scoring 4 runs or more. Pirates are going to have to identify and address the root cause of this if they are going to contend.

Just looked at the stats and I see that K-Dro is on the verge of dipping below the Mendoza line with his batting average. The K-Dro / Hart platoon might be worse than the Davis / Sanchez tandem of 2014. At least Davis and Sanchez could play decent defense

And once again today the Bucs made an average pitcher look like the reincarnation of Warren Spahn

A split is indicative of the team simply not hitting and taking advantage of a mediocre staff and bull pen. This team is showing a classic indifference to losing games that will cost them in September. Then again, it may not matter by then.

Cards have only scored 3 runs or less in 11 games (compared to Pirates 16) and are 6-5 in those games (compared to Pirates 1-15)