Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 3
When: 7:05 PM ET, Monday, June 25, 2012
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 79°
Umpires: Home - Ted Barrett, 1B - Marvin Hudson, 2B - Tim McClelland, 3B - Brian Runge
Attendance: 44721

Phillies 8, Pirates 3:
Jimmy Rollins homered and Joe Blanton pitched seven solid innings as Philadelphia routed visiting Pittsburgh.

The Phillies made quick work of Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens (0-2), who had been out since April 17 with an injured shoulder. Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino had RBI singles during a four-run first inning that was kept alive by two throwing errors from Pirates right fielder Jose Tabata.

Placido Polanco singled home a run in the third inning and Rollins hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 7-2. The blast was Rollins' fourth in five games.

That was more than enough of a cushion for Blanton (7-6), who struck out eight while scattering seven hits and a walk.

Karstens labored his way through five innings, allowing six earned runs on 11 hits. The Pirates didn't do him any favors by committing four errors.

Tabata got Pittsburgh on the board with a third-inning solo homer. Clint Barmes and Andrew McCutchen added RBI singles in the fourth and fifth, respectively.

Ty Wigginton pushed in the final run for Philadelphia when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Pittsburgh C Rod Barajas left the game in the second inning with a bone bruise on his left knee. ... The Phillies’ win evened the season series between the two clubs at 2-2. ... The Pirates are 5-19 at Citizens Bank Park since it opened in 2004. ... Injured Philadelphia 2B Chase Utley warmed up with the team before the game and is slated to rejoin the lineup on Wednesday. ... A Pittsburgh team with a winning record had not faced a sub-.500 Phillies club this late in the season since 1992, the year of the Pirates' last playoff appearance.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Pittsburgh   Philadelphia
Jeff Karstens Player Joe Blanton
Loss W/L Win
5.0 IP 7.0
4 Strikeouts 8
11 Hits 7
10.80 ERA 2.57
Hitting
Pittsburgh   Philadelphia
Pedro Alvarez Player Carlos Ruiz
2 Hits 3
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
2 TB 3
.500 Avg .600
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Pittsburgh 8 1 12 .235 15 9 3 2 0 4
Philadelphia 12 1 16 .333 17 8 6 3 1 2