The Philadelphia Phillies snapped their eight-game losing streak on Thursday night, taking down the Red Sox 1-0. Their record drops to 22-43.
On The Mound
- Nick Pivetta had the strongest start of his young career, tossing seven scoreless innings.
- Pivetta had failed to make it longer than five in any of his previous starts.
- The rookie gave up just four hits, two walks, and struck out nine.
- Pat Neshek pitched a scoreless eighth and got the win.
- Hector Neris walked a batter in the ninth, but struck out two to get the save.
At The Plate
- The offense managed just one run on four hits.
- Ty Kelly drove in the lone run with an RBI-double in the eighth.
- Odubel Herrera turned another hitless effort, going 0-4 at the top of the order.
- Howie Kendrick went 0-3 with a walk.
- Aaron Altherr went 0-3, dropping his average to .281.
- Tommy Joseph went 1-3 with a single.
- Maikel Franco went 1-3 with a double.
- Daniel Nava started again in left, and went 0-3.
- Freddy Galvis went 0-3 as well.
- Andrew Knapp went 1-3 with a single and scored the only run.
Final Thoughts
Another long losing streak mercifully comes to an end.
And yet, this could have easily been the team’s ninth straight loss. The offense once again had next to nothing to offer. They were no challenge at all for a guy like Chris Sale. It took a fluke of a double from Ty Kelly late in the game to put the Phils on the board.
Fortunately for the lackluster offense, the team’s pitching staff was more than up to the challenge tonight. Nick Pivetta’s seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance was very encouraging against a lineup that had hit the team around pretty badly all week.
