Cole’s pitching, hitting lead Pirates

PHILADELPHIA » Pirates manager Clint Hurdle felt like he was watching Little League, not major league.

Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings and drove in his first runs of the season with a tiebreaking tworun single to lead Pittsburgh to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.

“He basically Little Leagued the guys tonight,” Hurdle said. “He drives in two and pitches six strong.”

Cole (7-7) rebounded from a poor outing last Friday against San Francisco and a shaky first inning against the Phillies, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander struck out the side in his final inning.

“Just guts, maybe a little luck, some nice (defensive) plays,” Cole said of bouncing back. “You just have to grind when you’re in those situations.”

Felipe Rivero, pitching on his 26th birthday, recorded his fifth save by striking out the side in a scoreless ninth.

Cole’s big hit came in the Pirates’ four-run fourth inning, when Pittsburgh also got some help from Ben Lively (1-4).

Josh Bell’s triple off the wall in right scored Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates tied the game at 2 on David Freese’s sacrifice fly. Lively looked poised to get out of the inning when he fielded Jordy Mercer’s grounder to the left of the mound, but his throw pulled Tommy Joseph off first base and loaded the bases for Cole.

“I thought he was further down the line than he was and I just rushed it,” Lively said.

Cole followed by lining a single up the middle to score a pair of runs, giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead. He had been 3 for 28 this season entering the at-bat.

“It was a long inning for him,” Cole said. “I wasn’t trying to do much. Obviously, a single works there. I was trying to work the count and not be too aggressive because his pitch count was high. I just hit it up the middle.”

Mercer had two hits and also tripled for the Pirates, who have won three of four.

Maikel Franco homered and Daniel Nava doubled and had three hits for the Phillies.

Franco’s 12th homer of the season, a two-run shot to left field, gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the first.

Philadelphia threatened in the seventh against Daniel Hudson, putting runners on first and third with one out, but outfielder Gregory Polanco ended the inning with a superb throw to the plate from medium right field to nail Nava trying to score from third and complete a 9-2 double play.

Daniel Nava

with three a losing effort.

Winning pitcher helped himself with a two-run single. One bad inning was all it for to blow up. went oh-for-4, dropping his average to .169. Not the same guy this year.

Ben Lively Andres Blanco

hits

Gerrit Cole

in took