Locke, Pirates silence Phillies
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Jeff Locke tossed six scoreless innings in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the second test of a four-game set.
Locke (2-1) struck out six and surrendered just two hits and two walks for the Pirates, who have won four of their last five games.
"He made pitches; he flat-out made pitches," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Locke.
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Gaby Sanchez smacked a solo homer and Jason Grilli fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his eighth save of the season.
Cole Hamels (0-3) was the hard-luck loser. He struck out six and surrendered two runs on seven hits and a walk over eight innings for Philadelphia, which tallied just four hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The Phillies have plated three runs or less in 13 of their 21 games.
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"I think they're trying, maybe a little bit too hard," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the offense.
The Buccos plated a run apiece in the fourth and eighth.
Neil Walker led off the fourth with a single through the hole on the left side and scored when Brandon Inge belted a one-hop double off the wall into the gap in right-center.
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Sanchez added insurance in the eighth when he cracked an opposite-field shot into the front row of seats in right to make it 2-0.
The Phillies had runners on first and second with two away in the eighth, but Ryan Howard grounded out weakly to first to end the threat.
Game Notes
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Phillies third baseman Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 14 games ... The Pirates went 0-for-13 runners in scoring position ... Sanchez's homer was his second of the year.