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Phillies shut down by Pirates

The Phillies fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3, at Citizens Bank Park on Wenesday night. Domonic Brown left the game with a shoulder contusion.

Phillies catcher Wil Nieves. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Phillies catcher Wil Nieves. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

WITH TWO on, two out and a one-run lead, former Phillies pitcher Vance Worley played it safe. He wasn't going to let Freddy Galvis be the hero again, so he pitched around the eight-hole hitter to take his chances with the opposing pitcher.

Jerome Williams, the journeyman pitcher who had just two hits since 2005 entering the night, responded by ripping a go-ahead, two-run single on the second pitch he saw from Worley.

"I was just trying to make contact, put the ball in play somewhere," Williams said afterward. "But I don't really want to talk about that hit; that really didn't do nothing because I didn't come back out there and get that shutdown inning."

In the next half inning, Williams served up two home runs — including an inside-the-parker to reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen — as the Pirates rolled to a 6-3 win last night.

McCutchen's blast and blitz was one of the more exciting plays at Citizens Park in 2014. Williams' hit in the previous inning was the lone highlight from a Phillies offense that was overmatched by Pittsburgh's lineup. The Pirates, in contention for their second straight postseason berth after a two decade-long playoff drought, outhit the Phillies 13-4.

Williams, who had as many RBI as he had in his entire 9-year career entering the night, accounted for one-fourth of the Phillies' hit total. Cody Asche, starting at third base for the first time in four games in place of Maikel Franco, had two hits and scored twice.

The top five hitters in the starting lineup — Ben Revere, Grady Sizemore, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown — were a combined 0-for-17 with five strikeouts and one walk. In his first start in South Philly since being traded away for Revere two winters ago, Worley collected his seventh win since jumping into Pittsburgh's rotation in the middle of the summer.

"He shut us down," said Ryne Sandberg, who managed Worley at Triple A Lehigh Valley. "He made some pitches, changed speeds ... he stayed ahead of our hitters and we couldn't put some hits together or get a threat against him."

"I worked tonight," said Worley, who has a 3.05 ERA in 15 starts this season. "I wouldn't say there was any extra emotion. Just extra sweat. That's about it ... I just had to keep battling and trust what I had and trust my defense behind me."

For the second time in the last three games, the Phillies saw one of their regulars have to leave a game with an injury. Jimmy Rollins missed his second straight game with a left hamstring injury.

Brown came out in the sixth with a left shoulder contusion. He was one of three Phillies outfielders who had to go diving or jumping awkwardly for blistering balls the Pirates sent into orbit.

In the top of the fifth, a half inning after Williams gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead, McCutchen launched a ball about 420 feet, off the high angle wall in centerfield. Revere jumped at the wall, but never had a chance.

The ball caromed off the wall, well away from Revere, and McCutchen circled the bases for a stand-up, inside-the-park home run that tied the game.

"When I saw Ben running, I really thought he had an opportunity to catch it," Williams said. "I just judged on how he went to the ball. Then when he went to the wall and it bounced off, I was like, 'Ohhh, hopefully something happens and 'Cutch' doesn't get to home plate.' "

"Ben has a tough read there, just as far as going to that angle," Sandberg said. "You get some help from the rightfielder on that, to at least keep it to a double or a triple."

The home run was McCutchen's 23rd of the season and the first inside-the-park shot of his career. Two batters later, Russell Martin slugged a ball that left the playing field to give the Pirates their one-run lead back.

"I think those were the only two mistakes I left and they took advantage of it," Williams said. "Those are the two pitches I'd want to take back."

Travis Snider then made it three big blows in the span of four hitters when he lined a double to left. Brown made a diving attempt, but ended up an inch or two short and lying on the ground on the warning track.

"He didn't feel it initially — the wind was knocked out of him, that's why he laid back down," Sandberg said. "Then his shoulder stiffened up on him as the game went on."

In the sixth, Williams was out of the game but the Pirates kept at it. They collected four consecutive hits off Luis Garcia, leading to two more runs. Like Brown an inning earlier, Sizemore dove at a ball from his position in right, but came up empty.

Before the game went final, those who remained from the announced crowd of 25,135 got their first look at the International Man of Mystery. Cuban import Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who made his major league debut last week in Atlanta, struck out two of the four batters he faced in a scoreless eighth inning.

Gonzalez's fastball sat between 95-97 mph.

"He showed his stuff," Sandberg said.