Pirates Drop Series Opener To Phillies

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Although Bryce Harper had the tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning, it was Jean Segura’s lengthy at-bat in the following inning to drive in an insurance run that was the talk of the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse. Segura came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and forced Pittsburgh reliever Kyle Crick to throw 13 pitches before he hit a slow roller to the right of first baseman Josh Bell. Segura, playing through a banged-up left heel suffered when he fouled a ball off his foot on Monday, gutted it out and beat a covering Crick to the base by a fraction of a second. That gave the Phillies a two-run lead and they added three more in the ninth on a night they finished with 15 hits in a 6-1 victory over the Pirates on Friday night. The Phillies won back-to-back games for the first time since July 2, and did it with important late-game contributions in both. Harper’s single off Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez (3-4) in the seventh scored pinch-hitter Brad Miller to give the Phillies their first lead of the game. Miller reached on a single to left and advanced on a walk and fielder’s choice to set the table for Harper, who finished 2 for 5 with a double. The run snapped a 19-game scoreless streak for Rodriguez. Rookie outfielder Adam Haseley added a solo homer, his second in two games, and a run-scoring double to cap it for the Phillies. In the ninth, Maikel Franco drove in J.T. Realmuto with another infield single, Cesar Hernandez scored on a wild pitch and Haseley plated Franco with a double. The rally made a winner of Juan Nicasio (2-3), who pitched one-third of an inning in relief of starter Arrieta. Arrieta worked 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out four and allowed six hits. He’s been dealing with a bone spur in his elbow but has allowed two runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two starts. Pirates starter Jordan Lyles bounced back from his worst start of the season, striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings while allowing one run. In his previous start, he gave up seven runs and didn’t get out of the first inning.