Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 3, 2010 ) Philadelphia 12, Pittsburgh 4
After mustering just five runs in three games, the Philadelphia Phillies busted out in a big way on Saturday.
With each member of the starting lineup recording at least one hit, the Phillies pummeled the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates and showed flashes of the team which captured the National League pennant in successive seasons.
Surely, beating the cellar-dwelling Pirates (29-52) isn't cause for a ticker-tape parade down Broad Street, but it's a start.
Jimmy Rollins belted a two-run homer, Ben Francisco added a solo shot and Ryan Howard drove in three on a pair of run-scoring singles as Phillies cruised to a 12-4 triumph.
Shane Victorino had three hits - including an RBI triple - and Dane Sardinha and Jayson Werth both had RBI doubles for Philadelphia (42-37), which snapped a three-game skid despite having seven regulars on the disabled list.
Boosted by this performance, the Phillies will try to finish their 10-game road trip on a high note as they send Joe Blanton (3-5, 6.19 ERA) to the hill on Sunday.
After signing a three-year, $24 million contract to start the season, Blanton struggled out of the gate by winning just one of six decisions after dealing with a pesky oblique injury.
The 29-year-old Tennessee native may have righted the ship, posting a 2-0 mark with a 3.80 ERA in his last three starts. In his last outing on Tuesday, Blanton permitted three runs and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings in a win against the Cleveland Indians.
To boot, the burly right-hander has dominated the Pirates in three career starts, posting a 1-0 mark with a slim 1.77 ERA.
Pittsburgh will counter with Jeff Karstens (2-3, 4.46 ERA), who has never faced the Phillies. The 27-year-old right-hander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his nine starts this season.
Karstens permitted three runs and seven hits in six innings in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
He would welcome another strong effort from rookie Pedro Alvarez, who recorded his first multi-hit effort of his young career on Saturday. The second overall pick of the 2008 draft, Alvarez went 2-for-4 with his first career home run.
Ryan Church also went deep on Saturday, Ronny Cedeno added an RBI double and Delwyn Young had a run-scoring single for the Pirates, who were unsuccessful in their bid for a season-high four-game winning streak.