Kevin Correia racked up five strikeouts in three innings in his start for the Pirates Friday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough, as he gave up two runs and the Phillies won, 7-4. Correia got off to a poor start, allowing a bunch of baserunners in the first, before calming down. Fernando Nieve, who will probably be a reliever at Class AAA Indianapolis, allowed four runs one and a third innings pitched. Brian Burres had two scoreless innings of relief.
Andy Marte, a former top prospect who is competing for a bench role, went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for the Bucs. Tony Sanchez and Pedro Ciriaco also doubled.
Ryan Howard homered for the Phillies, and Wilson Valdez went 3-for-4 with a double. Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-3 with a double.
The Pirates and Phillies play again Saturday in Clearwater.