Phillies take advantage of free passes in 4-run 7th inning to beat Pirates in series opener

It looked promising for the Pittsburgh Pirates when they robbed the Philadelphia Phillies of a home run, took a commanding lead with a three-run blast and escaped a bases-loaded situation.

Only to give it away.

The Phillies took advantage of five free passes – four walks and a batter hit by a pitch – against three Pirates pitchers for a four-run seventh inning to rally for an 8-4 win Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. The start of the game was delayed one hour, 48 minutes by rain forecasts.

“It was tough,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “The walks got to us. We need to be better there.”

The Pirates (15-30), who failed to score more than four runs for a club-record 21st consecutive game, tried to stage a ninth inning comeback but left the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate.

They got a break in the third when Kyle Schwarber hit a 405-foot shot to center field but Matt Gorski made a leaping catch over the 6-foot fence to rob Schwarber of his 300th home run.

“Him going up over the wall there and bringing that one back was a big play,” Kelly said. “Anytime you can keep runs off the board, especially here against this team is big.”

After retiring eight consecutive batters, Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney started the fifth by giving up a double to Edmundo Sosa, threw a wild pitch and walked Weston Wilson to put runners on first and third with no outs. Heaney got Johan Rojas to hit a comebacker for a force out at second base. Heaney said he regretted not trying to turn a double play but wanted to keep Sosa honest at third.

“Honestly, the ball just kind of found my glove a little bit. It’s one of those ones that’s in your glove before you realize it,” Heaney said. “Check the runner. I just hesitated and didn’t make a great throw to Tri, didn’t give him a chance to turn two there. If I could go back and do it, I’d try to be more urgent.”

Heaney got Trea Turner to ground to third for a force out at home plate but Bryce Harper hit a 2-2 slider down and away for a bloop single to left to drive in Rojas, record his 1,000th career RBI and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Heaney walked Schwarber to load the bases but got Nick Castellanos to fly out to the warning track in right field.

“I made a good pitch to Harper and he put a better swing on it and found some grass out there,” Heaney said. “Under the circumstances, first and third nobody outs, I think giving up one is the best-case scenario there.”

The Pirates responded with Alexander Canario’s three-run home run, as the outfielder doubled his RBI total by drilling a 1-2 fastball high and outside 391 feet to left for a 3-1 lead. Canario went 2 for 3, marking his third consecutive game with two hits.

Colin Holderman got into a jam in the seventh when he walked Rojas and Turner singled to left on a fly ball that popped out of the mitt of a sliding Tommy Pham.

The Pirates turned to lefty Ryan Borucki to face Harper, who drew a full-count walk despite a check swing on a slider outside. Third base umpire John Libka signaled that Harper didn’t swing, then ejected Kelly, who ran onto the field for a heated exchange.

“These guys are going out there competing and battling,” Kelly said. “That call was a big point that changed the game.”

It only got worse from there, as Borucki then issued bases-loaded free passes by walking Schwarber and hitting Castellanos with a pitch to tie the game. Tanner Rainey replaced Borucki, only to walk J.T. Realmuto to drive in the go-ahead run. Alec Bohm followed with a sacrifice fly to center, as Schwarber beat Gorski’s throw home for a 5-3 lead.

The Phillies stretched their lead by scoring three more runs off lefty Joey Wentz for an 8-3 lead in the eighth. Rojas drew a one-out walk and scored on Turner’s triple to the right field corner. Harper singled to right to score Turner, advanced to third on Schwarber’s single and scored when Castellanos grounded out to short.

The Pirates brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. Daniel Robert sandwiched walks of Canario and Gorski around Adam Frazier’s pinch-hit single, then walked Jared Triolo with the bases loaded to cut it to 8-4.

The Phillies brought in lefty Jose Alvarado and the Pirates turned to Oneil Cruz – who hadn’t played since Saturday because of low back discomfort – to pinch-hit for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Cruz went down swinging, however, and Andrew McCutchen grounded out to short to end the game.

“It got away at the end,” Kelly said, “but we continued to fight until the last out.”