The Philadelphia Phillies are in a scoring slump. They were swept by the Atlanta Braves and came close to the same fate against the Miami Marlins before pulling out a win in the final game of the series. Now they are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time in over two weeks facing off against the Pittsburgh Pirates as both try and keep pace in the National League.
The Phillies have hit a slump, but managed to halt a long losing streak. The team scored just 12 runs while batting .230 during a six-game losing streak. They managed a 5-3 over Miami and hopes that gives them momentum heading into the weekend series. Tony Gwynn Jr drew a leadoff walk that set up Ben Revere's go-ahead run. The team is hopeful they can keep up the scoring as they face Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole who has struggled against the Phillies.
Cole is 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA on the season. He is coming off the disabled list after suffering shoulder fatigue and looked rusty in his return. He allowed five runs and three walks in just four innings of play, the shortest outing of his career.In his last start agains the Phillies, Cole gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings.
The Pirates are in a slump of their own. They have dropped eight chances to complete a sweep against a team. The Phillies will counter with Roberto Hernandez who has struggled most of the season with a 4.26 ERA. He has 45 walks on the season, the most in the National League. In his last eight starts, he has walked 27 over 46 innings while going 1-6 with a 4.50 ERA. The Phillies need him to change if they are going to win another game.
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