PHILADELPHIA —
A new catcher didn’t affect A.J. Burnett’s groove.
Burnett threw 6 2/3 sharp innings to win his eighth straight start, Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Thursday.
Pedro Alvarez also went deep for Pittsburgh, which split the four-game set in Philadelphia by winning the last two.
Burnett (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits, striking out seven. The winning streak is his longest, and it’s the first time a Pirates pitcher has won eight in a row since Dock Ellis in 1974.
Michael McKenry caught Burnett for the first time because Rod Barajas is injured.
“I was really impressed with McKenry,” Burnett said. “He was outstanding. I can’t say enough about him. It was a pleasure to work with him. He picked up where Rod left off.”
Joel Hanrahan tossed a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in
22 tries. He retired Hunter Pence on a shallow fly with the tying run on third to end it.
Eric Kratz and Pence hit homers for the Phillies.
The Pirates jumped on Kyle Kendrick (2-8) for five runs before he recorded a second out in the first.
Drew Sutton led off with an infield single and Neil Walker walked. One out later, Garrett Jones hit an RBI single. McGehee followed with a three-run shot to left. Alvarez then lined one out to right to make it 5-0.
Kratz connected off Burnett in the second to cut it to 5-2.
Burnett retired nine straight before consecutive singles by Shane Victorino and Pence put runners on first and third with one out in the sixth. Placido Polanco’s fielder’s choice grounder scored Victorino to cut it to 5-3.
Pence led off the bottom of the eighth with a shot off Jason Grilli for his first homer since June 2 and 14th of the year. Pence snapped a 98 at-bat homerless drought.
Grilli pitched out of a jam with two runners on to preserve the lead. He struck out pinch-hitter Jim Thome and retired pinch-hitter Carlos Ruiz on a foul pop. First baseman McGehee made a nice running catch and held onto the ball after stumbling into the first row down the right-field line.
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Burnett sharp against Phils
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