PITTSBURGH _ Matt Joyce tied it, Adam Frazier won it and, after a one hour, 32 minute rain delay, Mark Melancon saved it. The Pirates got contributions up and down the batting order Sunday, plus a big blast from the bench. They downed the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, and won both the game and the series at PNC Park.
After Joyce swatted a two-run home run in the sixth, Frazier pinch-hit in the seventh and clobbered his first career homer to complete the Pirates' comeback. They improved to 51-47.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon scattered eight hits and four runs over six innings. He struck out a career-high seven batters but was dinged by two solo home runs off the bats of left-handed batters Andres Blanco and Odubel Herrera. For the third start in a row, Taillon issued no walks.
Joyce was 2 for 2 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs. Starling Marte singled twice, doubled and scored twice.
After five stolen bases in five tries Saturday, the Phillies discovered a difference Sunday. The first out of the game came when Taillon whirled and picked off Cesar Hernandez at first base _ the move cleared the bases before Blanco's home run opened the scoring. Later, catcher Elias Diaz, making his first career start, picked off a Carlos Ruiz at second base.
The teams traded leads. The Pirates scored twice in the second when Diaz bounced a groundout for his first career RBI and Sean Rodriguez doubled home Joyce with two outs. The Phillies answered with two runs in the third on an infield single, a triple and a groundout.
The Pirates and a recent addendum to baseball's rulebook conspired to thwart a rumbling rally in the third. With runners on first and second and no outs, David Freese hit a grounder to third. Gregory Polanco's hard slide at second broke up a double play, leaving runners at the corners.
But the Phillies immediately challenged whether Polanco's slide violated the "Utley Rule," a policy adopted this offseason in an effort to protect middle infielders. The replay official concluded Polanco's slide violated the rule. Not only did the ruling result in a double play, but it sent John Jaso back to second base, since no runner can advance on a play ruled interference.
Marte's infield single, then, only served to move Jaso back to third. Marte then was caught stealing, ending an inning in which the Pirates made all three outs at second base.
Herrera put the Phillies ahead 4-2 in the sixth by driving Taillon's elevated fastball for a leadoff home run. After Marte doubled off the wall leading off the bottom of the inning _ his third hit of the day _ Joyce smashed a tying, two-run shot off the batter's eye in center field.
Joyce's 10th home run this season _ his eighth at PNC Park _ was nowhere near as stunning as Frazier's leadoff smash in the seventh. The rookie Frazier, batting .359 since joining the Pirates, greeted right-handed reliever Edubray Ramos with a solo shot to the top row of the right-field bleachers. It was the Pirates' sixth pinch-hit home run this season.
Frazier had three home runs in 1,354 at-bats in the minors, and none above the Class AA level.
Right-hander Neftali Feliz (4-0) whiffed Herrera to strand runners at the corners in the seventh. Left-hander Tony Watson struck out Cody Asche with two on and two outs in the eighth. (Asche was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.) After the delay, Melancon locked up his 30th save of the season.
