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PHILADELPHIA (AP) -It had been a long time since
Chase Utley
circled the bases at Citizens Bank Park. Too long.
Utley hit his first home run at home since July 7, and the
Philadelphia Phillies
rallied for a 6-3 win over the
Pittsburgh Pirates
on Sunday.
Utley snapped a 3-3 tie with his 29th home run, a two-run shot to right off Pittsburgh's
Tyler Yates
in the seventh. The Phillies moved two games ahead of the
New York Mets
in the National League East.
Utley was 0-for-12 before the home run, after previous slumps of 0-for-24 and 0-for-17 since hitting .362 with 13 homers over
the first 33 games. He went 1-for-3 to raise his average to .287, but still hasn't had a multi-hit game since July 30.
''When you don't get results, obviously it's frustrating,'' Utley said. ''I feel like we have a very good lineup from top
to bottom and it's a complete team effort.''
Phillies manager
Charlie Manuel
won't ever fret about his All-Star second baseman.
''I ain't worried about Chase's hitting,'' Manuel said. ''Not at all. He's fine. His hitting is going to come around.''
Greg Dobbs
added his major league-leading 21st pinch hit with an RBI double, setting a new club record. Dobbs is 21-for-51 as a pinch-hitter
this season. His double tied the game before Utley homered.
''It's an honor to set a franchise record,'' said Dobbs, who had shared the mark with
Doc Miller
from 1913. ''To do it in a situation when we needed a hit and a run is just icing on the cake.''
Recently-acquired left-hander
Scott Eyre
(3-0) picked up the win for Philadelphia by throwing four pitches in one-third of an inning.
Ryan Madson
pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save in two opportunities.
Yates (4-3) took the loss for the Pirates by giving up three earned runs in one inning. Yates' wife gave birth to a daughter
on July 31 and he has only made two appearances since that point.
''We need to get him in games,'' Pittsburgh manager
John Russell
said. ''We've got to get him going.''
Jason Davis
, the 12th different starter for the Pirates this season, worked out of several jams and allowed only four hits and two runs
- both unearned - in six innings after the game was delayed by rain for one hour, 47 minutes at the outset.
The 28-year-old Davis, who walked four and struck out three, last started a game on July 4, 2005, for the
Cleveland Indians
. He was 14-19 with a 4.93 ERA in 52 career starts before this game.
''He threw the ball well,'' Russell said. ''I thought he kept the ball down, changed speeds well. It was encouraging to see.''
After
Doug Mientkiewicz
's double in the second gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead, the Phillies went ahead in the third in a bizarre sequence of events.
After
Carlos Ruiz
walked to lead off the inning,
Jamie Moyer
put down a sacrifice bunt in front of home plate. Davis made an errant throw wide of first base, allowing Moyer to advance
to second.
Moyer knocked down first base umpire Randy Marsh on his way to second and then advanced to third on another throwing error
by Michaels from right field. A sacrifice fly to center by
Jimmy Rollins
scored Moyer.
''I was looking for the oxygen tank at third base,'' Moyer joked.
The Pirates took a 3-2 lead with two outs in the sixth on a two-run double by
Jason Michaels
off 45-year-old Moyer, who gave up seven hits and three earned runs in six innings.
Notes: Phillies closer
Brad Lidge
was unavailable because of stiffness in his right shoulder. Philadelphia's
Ryan Howard
played in his 232nd consecutive game, the longest streak in the major leagues. Sunday's game was the 5,000th for Pirates broadcaster
Lanny Frattare over a 33-year span. A crowd of 45,262 attended the game, the 40th sellout of the season at Citizens Bank Park.
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