Bullpen Struggles Continue as Phils Cough Up Late Lead in Loss to Pirates

PITTSBURGH -- Even after two of their starters left with injuries, the Pittsburgh Pirates still managed to come back against the Philadelphia Phillies' ineffective bullpen.

Armando Rios' two-run single highlighted a four-run eighth inning as the Pirates rallied for their fourth straight victory, a 7-4 triumph over the struggling Phillies.

	Vicente Padilla awaits a new ball after Brian Giles hit a first-innin g home run, Friday night. (AP)

Pittsburgh lost shortstop Pokey Reese to a strained hamstring in the first inning and catcher Jason Kendall left in the second after suffering a concussion when he was hit in the mask with a foul ball.

"Kendall couldn't see the signals we were giving him," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He could be back tomorrow though. Pokey will probably miss a couple of days. It looks like he needs to rest the leg. We continue to battle even with the injuries we find a way."

Despite having to replace two of the top seven hitters in their lineup, the Pirates rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the eighth against a Phillies' bullpen that has the highest ERA in the National League.

Pinch hitter Mike Benjamin opened the eighth inning with a double off Philadelphia starter Vincente Padilla (2-2) before third baseman Scott Rolen misplayed Adrian Brown's sacrifice bunt to put runners at the corners.

Abraham Nunez, who replaced Reese, singled to plated Benjamin with the game-tying run and Padilla gave way to Rheal Cormier, who walked Brian Giles.

Ricky Bottalico replaced Cormier and got Kevin Young to fly out before Rios hit a line drive down the right-field line to scored Borwn and Nunez for a 6-4 lead.

Kendall's replacement Keith Osik added an RBI single and Mike Williams worked around a hit in the ninth inning to record his National League-leading seventh save.

Philadelphia has lost six of its last eight games and is just 2-5 on the road.

"We're playing hard, it's just one of those things you have to battle through," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "Sometimes you get it early, sometimes in the middle, sometimes late, we're getting it right now. You go in streaks, we'll come out of it as quick as we went in."

Sean Lowe (1-0) earned the victory after allowing one run and two hits in three innings after relieving Pittsburgh starter Josh Fogg.

Giles homered with two out in the first inning and added a two-run double in the third as the Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Padilla.

But Fogg surrendered the lead in the fourth inning, giving up a solo homer to Bobby Abreu and a two-run double to Todd Pratt.

The Phillies took the lead in the sixth, when Rolen drew a leadoff walk from Lowe and stole second. Rolen went to third on Osik's throwing error and scored on a single by Travis Lee for a 4-3 lead.

"Walking the first batter wasn't a great start," Lowe said. "When you know that you've only given up one run it's not that hard to come back. I knew if I kept it close, the way our guys were playing, we had a shot to win."

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