PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The visitor’s bullpen in Citizens Bank Park is elevated, giving Juan Nicasio a bird’s-eye view of the mess he walked into Tuesday as he descended the steps in the seventh inning.
Jameson Taillon’s five blue-collar innings and an Andrew McCutchen homer resulted in a two-run lead that Tony Watson was asked to protect. He teetered. Nicasio entered with the bases loaded and one out. Failure to escape could have resulted in a blown lead, possibly a fifth consecutive loss to a last-place team and a record 10 games worse than .500.
Instead, Nicasio recorded two large outs with a double play. McCutchen added another homer for good measure, and the Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0.
“It was huge for us,” said McCutchen, who went 3 for 4 and is now hitting .288. “Bases loaded, we’re only up two runs, for him to come in and get that big double play, it was big, it was key for us. Closed it out, because that could have got ugly. He came in and he dealt.”
After Daniel Hudson pitched a perfect sixth, Watson faced the bottom of the order in the seventh and walked Andrew Knapp. Pinch-hitter Cameron Perkins reached on a well-placed ground-ball single to the left side, and, at that point, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk visited the mound to check on Watson, who had a cut on the back of his left thumb.
“He just asked if there’s any reason you can’t continue,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He said, ‘No, it’s just bleeding. Might have to go through some gauze and some baseballs. I don’t feel like it affected me. I’m not feeling anything when I pitch.’”
Watson remained in the game to face Ty Kelly, who dropped a perfect bunt down the third-base line. Watson fielded it and threw him out (though the Pirates had to challenge the play to get the out call), but he still had to deal with two runners in scoring position.
After a walk to Freddy Galvis, Watson was done. Nicasio got Aaron Altherr to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and preserve the lead. He pitched 1? scoreless innings before Felipe Rivero saved his fourth game.
“It feels great, especially going in and being able to help out your teammate, Watson, being able to save that inning,” Nicasio said in Spanish, with interpreter Mike Gonzalez translating.
The Pirates had a 1-0 lead when McCutchen led off the sixth. Phillies starter Mark Leiter Jr.’s first two pitches buzzed the tower. He missed up and in with a curveball, then up and in with a changeup. He missed again with his third pitch, but this time he missed over the inside part of the plate. McCutchen crushed it out to left field, and the Pirates doubled their slim lead.
“Just getting myself in a position to be ready to hit, getting a pitch I was able to do something with,” McCutchen said. “When I’m in a good spot, I can do that.”
Phillies reliever Ricardo Pinto did the same thing. He missed up and over the inside part of the plate to McCutchen in the eighth, and McCutchen knocked it off the facing of the second deck in left. Since Hurdle took McCutchen out of the lineup for two games in late May, McCutchen is hitting .408 with 10 home runs.
“He hit the first one good and he hit the second one more good,” Hurdle joked.
Taillon (5-2) pitched five scoreless innings but had to roll up his sleeves to get it done. He allowed at least one runner in scoring position in every inning and three times stranded a runner at third.
“Holding your composure and realizing that your job is to execute pitches,” Taillon said. “Regardless of where runners are, I need to execute pitches and make pitches. That’s what I did.”
He bailed himself out with a curveball he had locked in right out of the gate, a pitch that helped him set a career high with nine strikeouts. In five starts since coming off the disabled list June 12, Taillon has a 1.98 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 27 innings.
