Pirates have just enough to beat Phils

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Chase Utley was in New York getting his injured thumb surgically repaired. Charlie Manuel was missing from the dugout, banished for one game for making contact with an umpire. No wonder the Philadelphia Phillies didn’t look like themselves.

Right now they aren’t the team that won the National League the last two seasons, and they must be wondering when they will be again.

Daniel McCutchen became the second Pittsburgh rookie in as many days to win for the first time this season, pitching into the sixth inning as the Pirates beat the injury-thinned Phillies 3-2 on Thursday night.

Rookies Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez drove in a run each as the Pirates beat a team with a winning record for only the second time in 33 games since May 25. Their last victory over an above-.500 team was a 6-3 win over San Francisco on June 5.

On Wednesday, Pirates rookie Brad Lincoln won his first in the majors by pitching seven innings during a 2-0 victory in Chicago.

The Phillies lost their third in four games a few hours after learning Utley, their star second baseman, probably won’t return until September because of a damaged ligament in his right thumb. They fell four games behind idle Atlanta in the NL East.

McCutchen (1-3) was 1-5 in 11 career games before limiting Philadelphia to six hits and one earned run, striking out four and walking none in 51/3 innings.

Four relievers combined to work 32/3 scoreless innings, with Evan Meek pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth to lower his ERA to 0.98 in 37 games. Meek struck out Ryan Howard and got Raul Ibanez on a fly ball after Jimmy Rollins doubled with one out in the eighth.

Octavio Dotel finished up in the ninth for his 17th save in 20 opportunities.