Phils Swept by Pirates to Finish Road Trip 1-5

PITTSBURGH -- Kip Wells couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.

Abraham Nunez had three hits and scored three times and Jason Kendall drove in four runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates routed the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-3, to sweep the weekend series.

	Marlon Anderson and Tomas Perez watch as the Phils finish a 1-5 road trip. (AP)

Wells (3-1), who turned 25 Sunday, allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

"Our defense did another great job," Wells said. "I was having some problems early. But, you've got to credit our other players. Jason had a great day and (Nunez) has made some big contributions. I just tried to go as long as I could and keep the Phils off the board."

The Pirates got off to a fast start against Philadelphia starter Brandon Duckworth, scoring two runs on five singles in the first inning.

The second inning didn't get any better for Duckworth (1-1). After Wells struck out, Adrian Brown doubled and scored on Nunez's single. Two walks and one out later, Kendall, who left Friday's game with a concussion, cleared the bases with a triple to left-center field, ending Duckworth's afternoon.

"(The) concussion got all the bad stuff out of my head," Kendall joked. "Maybe getting hits like that get you going. This was a good day, we've had many things going. We just hope that we can keep it going."

"Kendall has done a great job with the staff all year," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Even though he hasn't hit, he's made good things happen for us."

Kendall wasn't aware Wells was celebrating a birthday.

"I didn't even know it was Wells' 25th birthday," he said. "Maybe I should have gotten him a cake or something."

"Winning on my birthday is nice," Wells said. "Turning 25, maybe my insurance rate goes down."

Duckworth surrendered seven runs and eight hits in just 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his 15 major league starts.

"(I) couldn't find anything that worked," Duckworth said. "(Their hits were) not hit that hard except for Kendall's triple. But, when you add it up, I didn't give us much of a chance."

"We had a bad day," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "We just played bad. You deserve to lose when you play bad. Intensity and momentum are as good as your pitcher. Down 7-1, 8-1 early, you have intensity but everything looks flat. When you're going good, you're going good. When it's bad, you're going bad."

The Pirates pounded out 15 hits, including at least one by every starter.

Nunez, filling in for second baseman Pokey Reese, who left Friday's game with a strained right hamstring, also drove in a run and stole two bases.

"I stay ready to play in case they give me the call to play," Nunez said. "Pokey's been hurt. It has been good to get in, show some good defense and take advantage of our chances. It was good to score some runs."

"Nunez has made big contributions off the bench," McClendon said. "We've expected him to contribute for a while. He continues to develop as a player."

The win was the sixth in a row for the Pirates, who had not won more than five straight since their eight-game winning streak in September 2000.

Jason Michaels hit his first career home run in the third inning for the Phillies, who have lost five in a row and eight of their last 10.

The game began after an 88-minute rain delay.

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