Phillies Walk the PNC Plank

The first 2-and-a-half months of the season were eminently forgettable for the Pittsburgh Pirates, yet they still remembered being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies – and they didn`t like the memory at all.

Jason Kendall, refusing to sit out even after getting a painkilling shot in his injured thumb, had three hits and drove in three runs and the Pirates had a season-high 17 hits in beating the slumping Phillies 8-5 Tuesday night.

Derek Bell added a two-run homer as the Pirates, who have the NL`s worst record at 24-43, won their fourth straight and dealt the first-place Phillies their eighth loss in 11 games. Before sweeping Cleveland over the weekend, the Pirates hadn`t won more than two in a row all season. Slightly less than a month ago, Pittsburgh lost a three-game series in Philadelphia that included a doubleheader sweep, and some Pirates felt the Phillies showed up them up.

"They handed it to us pretty good, but they didn`t do it in a professional manner," said reliever Scott Sauerbeck, who pitched the final two innings for his first save. "They were laughing and joking and everything was going good for them."

Now, it`s not, and it all starts with the Phillies starters. They have been scored up in the first inning in five consecutive games, allowing 12 runs in that inning alone.

"We`re giving up runs early and it`s happening in too many games," manager Larry Bowa said. "We`re down before we look up. It`s an uphill climb all the time."

Bowa suggested changes are coming, saying, "We have two or three pitchers pitching well in Triple-A, and I`ll leave it at that."

The Pirates opened a 5-2 lead after three innings against Bruce Chen (2-4) and the Phillies never caught up in their first game in PNC Park.

"You can`t underestimate anybody in this league," Phillies outfielder Doug Glanville said. "They`re hot right now and we`re not as hot. Timing is everything."

Kendall, bothered nearly all season by stretched ligaments in his left thumb, got a cortisone shot Monday that he hopes will ease the discomfort in his hand. He played left field instead of catching, but he didn`t appear to have any problem swinging the bat. He was 3-for-5 with a two-run single in the first off Chen and another RBI single in the fourth off Vicente Padilla that made it 6-2.

"It`s more of a catching thing than a hitting thing," Kendall said of the injury. "It hasn`t been a factor (in his hitting). I just haven`t hit well."

Even with the three hits, Kendall`s .259 average is by far the lowest of his six-year career. He hit .300 or better in four of his first five seasons and has never hit lower than .294 in a full season.

"He`s swinging the bat a lot better and I hope we can keep him on a roll," manager Lloyd McClendon said.

The Phillies, who scored 36 runs in a three-game weekend series against Baltimore, cut their deficit to 6-4 in the fifth on Bobby Abreu`s run-scoring single and Scott Rolen`s double. The Pirates came back for solo runs in the fifth on Jack Wilson`s single and the sixth on Kevin Young`s double.

Before that, Bell, whose .136 average entering the game was the lowest of any major league regular, hit a two-run drive off Chen in the second and Aramis Ramirez added an RBI double in the third before Chen was lifted for a pinch-hitter.

Bell changed his stance during a two-week rehabilitation stay at Triple-A Nashville and appears to be getting around on pitches better.

Pirates starter Joe Beimel (3-2), winless in his previous nine starts, got his first victory since May 6 against Colorado despite allowing four runs in five innings. Travis Lee hit a solo homer in the second, his 12th, and had a run-scoring single and Abreu had two run-scoring singles.

Notes: Wayne Gomes came off the disabled list and pitched a scoreless eighth for Philadelphia. ... The Pirates have won six of eight since losing four in a row. ... The Pirates are 4-12 against the NL East. ... Pittsburgh expects to pass the 1 million mark in attendance this weekend, the earliest they have done so in club history. ... Kendall has nine hits in five games after going 2-for-33. ... Bell`s only other homer was May 5 against Colorado.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)