Bailey Falter pitched five effective innings against his former team and Henry Davis drove in two runs as the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 on Friday to even the teams’ four-game series at one win apiece.
Falter (1-0) allowed one run on four hits and struck out three without walking a batter in his first outing against Philadelphia since being traded to Pittsburgh last season.
Davis collected two hits and two runs batting ninth for the Pirates, while Bryan Reynolds and Connor Joe each added an RBI as Pittsburgh became the major leagues’ third team to 10 wins this season.
Pirates closer David Bednar pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure his second save in five chances this season.
Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm supplied the Phillies’ lone RBIs. Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 with a double for Philadelphia, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
A two-out error, an untimely slip and a pitching cross-up led to Pittsburgh’s first three runs.
Andrew McCutchen walked with one out in the second inning before advancing with two outs when Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (0-2) bobbled Michael A. Taylor’s comebacker. Jared Triolo walked to load the bases before Sanchez lost Davis on five pitches to force in McCutchen from third.
The Pirates went up 2-0 in the fourth inning when Trea Turner slipped on the outfield grass as he prepared to field Joe’s two-out grounder, which trickled into left field to plate Taylor.
Pittsburgh scored an unconventional run in the seventh inning after putting runners on first and third with one out for Ke’Bryan Hayes. Philadelphia reliever Yunior Marte froze Hayes with a fastball for the second out, but Marte’s putaway pitch crossed up catcher J.T. Realmuto and ricocheted away as Davis raced in from third to make it 3-1.
Realmuto remained in the game despite taking Marte’s 98 mph pitch directly to the left wrist.
The Pirates pushed their lead to 5-1 in the eighth inning when Davis ripped an RBI double before Reynolds singled him home.
Philadelphia pulled within 5-2 in the bottom of the inning when Bohm worked a bases-loaded walk. Pittsburgh reliever Aroldis Chapman froze Brandon Marsh to end the threat before Bednar handled the ninth inning.
Marsh sliced a double in the fifth and scored the Phillies’ first run on Stott’s infield hit.
–Field Level Media
