PHILADELPHIA _ The crowd clustered in Section 126 at Citizens Bank Park Thursday night cheered Chad Kuhl's every move. The right-hander from nearby Bear, Del., heard the hometown help when he struck out the side in the fourth, when he carried a perfect game into the fifth, and again once his outing was over, lifted in the seventh as the Pirates pulled away in their 15-2 win.
As a kid, Kuhl went to Philadelphia Phillies games at Veterans Stadium. He attended the University of Delaware, 40 miles southwest along the Delaware River, and grew up 10 miles further south. He estimated the friends and family at the game numbered more than 100.
"I anticipate there will be a few people here. That'll be cool," manager Clint Hurdle said before the game. He realized his clever word play and laughed, adding, "No pun intended."
The rookie Kuhl got even more support from his offense. The Pirates piled up four singles, four doubles and five home runs, capping the night with an eight-run ninth. John Jaso, Sean Rodriguez and Jordy Mercer homered, and Andrew McCutchen hit his 22nd and 23rd homers of the season to create sizable separation. McCutchen had three hits and three RBIs.
Kuhl allowed four hits and two runs in six innings, striking out five and walking none. He threw just 68 pitches. The Pirates (71-74) plan to limit the innings of Kuhl and fellow rookie right-hander Jameson Taillon down the stretch in September and early October. Both pitchers were skipped in the last tour of the Pirates rotation in order to lessen the wear and tear on their arms.
Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff allowed five hits, four home runs, in 62/3 innings.
Hurdle plugged Jaso into the leadoff spot for the first time since Aug. 3 and was rewarded with immediate dividends. The eighth offering from Eickhoff was blasted to center field for Jaso's sixth home run this season, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead one batter into the game.
After the leadoff homer, the next 19 batters in the game went down in order, a streak of offensive silence shattered by McCutchen smacking a fourth-inning solo shot to left-center field. The third hit of the game was the third homer, as Rodriguez belted Eickhoff's slider to left in the fifth.
The Phillies drew within a run in the fifth, tagging Kuhl for two runs on three hits. Mercer blew the game open with a two-out, three-run homer in the seventh. After Gregory Polanco doubled and Francisco Cervelli reached on an error, Mercer swung weakly through two sliders, let a curveball pass, then clobbered a full-count slider to left for his 11th homer.
Former Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett, who retired last fall, stopped by the ballpark Thursday and visited his old teammates for the first time this season. Before the game, he said, McCutchen told Burnett he'd hit two home runs for him. Burnett probably didn't believe him.
On a 2-2 fastball from reliever Frank Hermann in the eighth, McCutchen launched his second blast into the night sky. When he crossed the plate, he pointed toward Burnett in his luxury suite and smiled. It marked McCutchen's third multi-homer game this season, and his 173rd career home run. He trails Barry Bonds by two for fourth place on the Pirates' all-time home run list.
Kuhl (4-3) took home the win and dropped his ERA from 4.09 to 3.97.
Kuhl was in high school when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. A ton of his classmates, he remembered, skipped school the day of the championship parade and headed to Philadelphia. Kuhl stayed behind and went to class. Was it part of a "Be Kuhl, stay in school" campaign?
"I wasn't a big Phillies fan," Kuhl explained. "I would have felt silly. It was cool, but I didn't (skip)."
