Pirates at Phillies
Freddy Galvis welcomed the birth of his second daughter with a smile before greeting the Pittsburgh Pirates with a two-run homer just hours later. The 27-year-old Venezuelan looks to continue the festivities as the host Philadelphia Phillies aim to win their third straight contest on Tuesday when they play the second of a four-game series against their Keystone State rivals.
Galvis, who belted the first pitch he saw for a two-run homer in Monday's 4-0 victory, is batting 6-for-16 with three extra-base hits against the Pirates this season. Maikel Franco has mirrored Galvis by highlighting his 2-for-4 performance in the opener with a two-run shot to improve to 6-for-16 versus Pittsburgh this season. While the majors-worst Phillies have answered losing 16 of 19 by winning four of six, the Pirates have mustered nine runs en route to losing four in a row. Andrew McCutchen, who was the National League's Player of the Month for June, had one of Pittsburgh's four hits on Monday to improve to 12-for-27 with six runs scored in his last eight games.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT Pittsburgh, CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jameson Taillon (4-2, 2.97 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Mark Leiter (1-0, 4.20)
Taillon tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings against Tampa Bay on Thursday to improve to 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts since undergoing surgery for testicular cancer. "I feel healthy. I'm back," the 25-year-old said. "That's back-to-back games, six innings the last one (and) 6 1/3 this time, 100 pitches. I feel like I'm back with the team, I'm contributing and we're playing for something." Taillon struggled in his lone career outing versus Philadelphia last year, allowing two homers and four runs total in six innings of a no-decision.
Home runs were the order of the day for Leiter on Wednesday, as the 26-year-old permitted three in five innings of a no-decision at Seattle. "We won, so great," said Leiter, who escaped his first major league loss after Philadelphia rallied in the ninth inning. "Really, the goal as a starting pitcher is to try to keep the team in the game as long as you can" The offensive barrage came on the heels of Leiter keeping the ball in the park in seven of his previous eight outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. National League All-Star 2B Josh Harrison is 0-for-11 with four strikeouts in his last three games for Pittsburgh.
2. Philadelphia rookie LF Nick Williams is 5-for-14 with two runs scored since making his major league debut.
3. Pirates 1B Josh Bell is 0-for-8 in his last two contests on the heels of a four-game hitting and RBI streak.