With two outs in the seventh, Williams sent a line drive down the right field line that took a funny hop off the fence and eluded Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco, who bobbled the ball. The relay throw still made it to third baseman Colin Moran ahead of Williams, but he able to avoid the tag for a triple.
Carlos Santana scored on the play. Kingery followed up with a single up the middle and then scored when Alfaro hit a double to right-center to give the Phillies all they’d need to clinch their third straight series win and improve to an MLB-best 19-7 in one-run games.
”Another win in a one-run game,” manager Gabe Kapler said. ”I think that’s something to really be proud of and something we continue to focus on.”
Jake Arrieta (6-6) worked around six hits with the help of eight strikeouts to hold the Pirates to two runs over seven innings. It was Arrieta’s first win in eight starts, though it didn’t look that way at first.
”There’s no perfect formula for how the game’s going to play out,” Arrieta said. ”Yeah, you want to score first. You want to score often. Sometimes that doesn’t happen.”
Pirates starter Jameson Taillon (5-7) was charged with all three runs. He struck out eight and walked none in his 77 pitches over 6 2/3 innings. He had allowed just two singles and hadn’t allowed a runner to even get into scoring position coming into the seventh inning. Reliever Edgar Santana allowed the go-ahead run to score with Alfaro’s double. The three runs were scored on three straight pitches.
”I was really excited and looking forward to being the guy to put an end to our tough streak here,” Taillon said. ”I’m at 68 pitches without a guy touching second base and someone’s warming up? That’s tough. So, I don’t know. I haven’t been pitching the greatest. I understand the trust isn’t there. “
Starling Marte singled and scored in the first and homered in the second as part of a three-hit afternoon to stake the Pirates to an early lead. Pittsburgh has lost five straight.
Victor Arano worked around a leadoff double in the ninth for his second save.
ROSTER MOVES
The Pirates activated right-handed reliever Michael Feliz from the 10-day disabled list http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-fred-warner-jersey , selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Alex McRae from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned relievers Dovydas Neverauskas and Josh Smoker to Indianapolis.
Feliz had been on the disabled list since June 24 with a right shoulder strain. He has a 5.51 ERA in 33 appearances this season. It’s McRae’s first MLB call-up. He had a 4.61 ERA in 17 appearances – 16 starts – with Indianapolis. He’ll work out of the bullpen in Pittsburgh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: INF Cesar Hernandez did not start after fouling a ball off his foot on Friday. He flew out in the eighth as a pinch hitter.
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli (concussion) returned from his rehab assignment and took batting practice before the game. He hopes to be activated from the disabled list on Sunday. . RHP Joe Musgrove (finger infection) threw a bullpen session. He expects to return from the disabled list on Tuesday. . RHP Chad Kuhl (right forearm strain) is getting a second opinion on his injury and expects to be out until after the All-Star Game.
UP NEXT
Phillies: Drew Anderson is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make his 2018 debut. Anderson was 5-3 with a 4.15 ERA. It will be his third career MLB appearance.
Pirates: Nick Kingham (2-4, 4.70 ERA) will try to shake off a career-worst appearance last time out against Los Angeles on July 2, when he gave up seven runs in three innings. The rookie is 0-4 over his last five starts.
The Tampa Bay Rays finished the second-best homestand in their history, with a much easier path between now and the All-Star Game as they try to claw their way back into wild-card contention.
Tampa Bay (41-40) went 8-1 at Tropicana Field, finishing a grueling stretch of 16 games against the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals and going 10-6 in those games to rise back above .500.
Now the Rays have a stretch of 16 straight games against teams with losing records, including a three-game series at the Miami Marlins (34-51) starting Monday.
The Rays have dominated with their patchwork pitching staff, allowing a total of seven runs in their last six games, with five wins and a 1-0 loss. They took three of four from Houston to close out the homestand and hope to continue the success to take some positive momentum into the All-Star break.
“The fact that we have been winning and everyone has been coming together at clutch moments has been great,” said outfielder Mallex Smith http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-tarvarius-moore-jersey , who had a late solo home run in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Houston. “We’ve been jelling as a team. We’ve been feeding off one another. It seems like someone new coming through at the right time every day.”
Next for Tampa Bay is Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 4.08 ERA), who played for the Marlins from 2012 to 2014 and will almost certainly fare better than his only career appearance against his former team. In June 2015, he played there with the Yankees and gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in less than an inning, leaving after two outs with a 108.00 ERA to show for it.
Eovaldi has shown promise since returning from Tommy John surgery — his last start against Washington lasted six innings and he gave up no runs, one and and two walks with nine strikeouts.
The Marlins will answer with Wei-Yin Chen, who knows the Rays from his days with the Baltimore Orioles. He has started 21 career games against Tampa Bay, more than any other opponent, and posted a 5-6 record with a 3.72 ERA.
That’s considerably better than his overall numbers this year — he’s 2-5 with a 6.14 ERA, though his last start was solid. He limited Arizona to one run and five hits in six innings last week. Against Tampa Bay last year http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kentavius-street-jersey , he pitched well, holding the Rays to two runs and two hits in six innings.
The in-state rivals will meet again right after the All-Star break for three more games, but the extended run against lesser opponents is something the Rays must dominate if they want to get back into wild-card contention.
Even after winning eight of nine games, Tampa Bay is still 11 games behind Seattle for the second AL wild card. Still, being 42-41 after opening the season 1-8 isn’t bad, especially considering the injuries they’ve dealt with and the talent traded away since the end of last season.