Kingham's Arm & Bat, Bullpen K-Gang Snap the Streak With a 4-1 Win

Nick Kingham gave the Phils a one-out knock; Drew Anderson spun a clean opening to his first MLB start. Three grounders, three outs for Philly in the second. Cervy doubled in his first at bat since June 21st and went to third an out later after a boot. J-Hay's knock up the middle gave the Bucs the first tally. The King gave up a leadoff knock and two-out HBP in the third but kept the plate clean. Starling singled, stole a base and was stranded. Nick Williams put a charge into a Kingham changeup and his 422' blast to right center tied it in the fourth. AM singled to center with one gone and Jordy's two-out rap moved him to third. The King helped himself by lining a two-strike two-bagger to left to send them both home, and J-Bell's blooper ground rule double to right plated Nick. It was a quiet fifth for Philly. Corey D got three straight high heaters, dropping the third into left for a leadoff single, then swiping second before Red Beard walked. It quickly imploded after a 4-6-3 DP from Amore and AM roller.

The King had it all goin' on (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

The Phils opened the sixth with a knock and a walk. The King fell behind Carlos Santana 3-0 but came back to get a pop in a huge at bat, then fanned the next pair. Mark Leiter Jr toed the slab and spun a calm frame. Edgar Santana got the seventh after Kingham's 84-pitch, one run, four-hit, one walk, five K effort. He bopped the first batter, who moved up after a passed ball. Then he came back from 3-0 to fan Maikel Franco, and cruised out. Starling dropped a bunt for a one-out single but didn't advance. Kyle Crick took over in the eighth and K'ed two-of-three; that's six Phils down on strikes in three frames. Austin Davis grabbed the ball and started with a walk of Cervy, who swiped second but died there. Felipe Vazquez climbed the hill and struck out the side. RTJR finally!

Notes:

• Starling continues to look good after his sit-down with two more hits; Amore had a knock and a walk. 
• From the sixth inning on, nine-of-12 Phil outs were whiffs.
• Nick Kingham's two-run double booked his first MLB hit, extra-base knock, & RBIs, and led to his first run scored. Pretty nice rap; we'll bet that ball ends up on the mantle.
• The Pirates opened the scoring in all three games against Philadelphia.
• There were 19,542 at the ballyard on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
• Eli started 14 straight games behind the dish during Cervy's DL stint.
• Clint confirmed that Clay Holmes was sent to Bradenton rather than Indy to keep him on schedule as a pitching option Saturday (although the starter is officially TBD), when the Pirates have a doubleheader against Milwaukee. The 10-day minor league stay requirement after being optioned isn't in effect for the 26th man rule.