Phillies get 4-game sweep of Pirates, 1st in 24 years

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PHILLIES 3, PIRATES 2 (11)

PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Altherr had quite a game for a guy who sat on the bench the first six innings.

Altherr's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Phillies to a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday, giving Philadelphia its first four-game sweep over the Pirates in 24 years.

Andrew Knapp hit an opposite-field triple off the left-field wall with one out off Rich Rodriguez (0-1). With the infield in, Altherr pulled a 1-2 pitch to left for his third hit. He raised his hand in the air, ran to first and got mobbed by teammates.

"Feels great to have my first walk-off in the big leagues," Altherr said.

Altherr finished 3 for 3 with a triple, raising his average from .104 to .157. He's had to adjust to not being in the lineup every game because Manager Gabe Kapler is rotating 10 players for eight starting spots.

"It's been really difficult as the days went on," Altherr said. "I'm trying to stay positive and keep rolling."

Kapler raved about Altherr's attitude.

"Coming into the season, we felt he was one of our best offensive players," Kapler said. "He's had some bad luck. I'm sure he wanted to play more regularly but every day he comes in with a smile, he comes prepared and he works his tail off. Good things happen to good people. He deserves it. His teammate behavior has been unparalleled. It's outstanding."

The Phillies have won 13 of 16 since a 1-4 start and are seven games over .500 for the first time since they were 24-17 on May 18, 2016. They finished 71-91 that season and lost 96 games last year.

Philadelphia had not swept a four-game series from the Pirates since May 12-15, 1994. Pittsburgh has lost four in a row and six of seven after an 11-4 start.

"We had opportunities throughout the game," Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle said. "We had a rough week. We need a day off and figure things out and show up ready to play Tuesday."

Elias Diaz hit a two-run home run for Pittsburgh.

Pirates starter Trevor Williams allowed 2 runs and only 1 hit -- an RBI double to pitcher Nick Pivetta -- in 6 innings. He had five walks and fanned seven.

Pivetta gave up 2 runs and 5 hits, striking out 7 in 6 1/3 innings.

BREWERS 4, MARLINS 2 Christian Yelich hit a two-run home run, Junior Guerra worked five innings and three relievers did the rest for host Milwaukee, which completed a four-game sweep of Miami.

CARDINALS 9, REDS 2 Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong homered, Mike Mikolas tossed seven strong innings and St. Louis completed its second sweep of visiting Cincinnati this season.

CUBS 9, ROCKIES 7 Nolan Arenado was initially called safe when he tried to score on a bases-loaded pitch that bounced to the backstop, then was ruled out on a video review that ended a victory for Chicago over host Colorado.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, PADRES 2 Patrick Corbin struck out 11 in six innings to improve to 4-0 in five starts, and Arizona became the first team in 15 years to win their first seven series of a season with a victory over visiting San Diego.

DODGERS 4, NATIONALS 3 Cody Bellinger followed Yasmani Grandal’s two-run double with a tying RBI double in the sixth, and Corey Seager drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as host Los Angeles beat Washington.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

INDIANS 7, ORIOLES 3 Jose Ramirez homered twice and drove in three runs, Corey Kluber won his third consecutive start and Cleveland beat struggling host Baltimore.

YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 1 Luis Severino pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, prized prospect Gleyber Torres went 0 for 4 in his big league debut and youthful New York beat visiting Toronto.

ROYALS 8, TIGERS 5 Mike Moustakas hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the seventh inning, and Kansas City outlasted host Detroit to earn a split of their four-game series.

RAYS 8, TWINS 6 Slumping Carlos Gomez hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep by beating visiting Minnesota.

ASTROS 7, WHITE SOX 1 Jose Altuve hit a go-ahead single in a five-run seventh inning, and Houston stretched its winning streak to six with a victory over host Chicago.

RANGERS 7, MARINERS 4 Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo hit impressive home runs in the same inning, and Texas avoided a series sweep with a victory over visiting Seattle.

ATHLETICS 4, RED SOX 1 Khris Davis hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run off David Price with two outs in the eighth inning and host Oakland beat Boston.

INTERLEAGUE

GIANTS 4, ANGELS 2 Johnny Cueto (2-0) allowed only 2 hits and struck out 7 in 6 shutout innings, leading visiting San Francisco over Los Angeles.

Sports on 04/23/2018

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