Maikel Franco homered twice, and the Philadelphia Phillies (25-47) scored eight times through the first four innings as they out-slugged the New York Yankees (38-32) 11-8 Monday night in Game 1 of their Interleague series. Franco started the scoring with a solo home run (8) in the top of the first and a two-run shot (9) in the sixth.
Franco also singled home two more runs as part of a four-run top of the fourth that put the Phillies ahead 8-2.
Also driving in runs for the Phillies were Ryan Howard (two-run single in the third), Cesar Hernandez (two-run double in the fourth), and Ben Revere (RBI single in the ninth). The Phillies also scored on a double-play groundout off the bat of Dominic Brown in the third, but scoring rules do not credit Brown with a run batted in.
The Yankees took a first-inning 2-1 lead via Brian McCann's sacrifice fly and Carlos Beltran's RBI double. However, each time they scored, the Phillies would tack on more runs of their own to regain or maintain a lead.
Down 8-2 as they came up in the bottom of the fourth, the Yankees started to mount a come back but fell short. Brett Gardner launched a three-run home run (8) to make it 8-5. McCann homered (11) in the 7th to make it 10-6. Garrett Jones drove in two more in the bottom of the ninth to move to within 11-8. The Bronx Bombers, though, could not pull any closer.
Jake Diekman (W: 2-1, 5.68 ERA) pitched two innings in relief to earn the win. He allowed only one hit and no runs while walking three and striking out three. Neither starter pitched long in this one. Kevin Correa lasted only four innings for the Phillies, allowing five runs on eight hits. He walked one, struck out one, and served up a home run.
Michael Pineda (8-4, 4.25) just did not have it. He lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits. He had no luck either; even when he made good pitches, the Phillies found holes or beat out infield hits. Pineda walked one, struck out none, and served up a home run.
On Tuesday, Sean O'Sullivan (1-5, 4.79) will pitch for the Phillies, facing Yankee southpaw CC Sabathia (3-7, 5.31). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT.
