Odubel Herrera hit a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
The Pirates threatened in the ninth when Jordy Mercer doubled with one out, but David Freese popped out in the infield and Adam Frazier grounded out.
After a promising 11-3 start, Pittsburgh has dropped four of five.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the sixth. Francisco Cervelli was hit by a pitch, went to third on Colin Moran’s double and scored on Mercer’s sacrifice fly to right.
Philadelphia tied it in the bottom half of the sixth on a fielder’s choice.
Pirates starter Ivan Nova gave up a run on five hits in six innings. Nova struck out three and walked none. He has fanned 21 batters against one walk in his last four starts.
The Pirates and Phillies play Game 3 of the four-game series at 4 pm Saturday. Airtime on WCCS AM 1160 and FM 101.1 is 3:40 p.m.
