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Pirates tie Phillies, 3-3
Saturday, March 06, 2010

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base after his mother, Petrina, opened the game with a rousing version of the national anthem, and Ryan Church added a two-run homer and a single as the Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies ended in a 10-inning, 3-3 tie today before a sold-out crowd of 5,787 in McKechnie Field.

It was their Grapefruit League home opener, and left them with a record of 1-2-1 in official spring-training games.

Kevin Hart, in competition for the Pirates fifth-starter job, walked four and allowed one hit in the seven Phillies batters he faced -- though he yielded only two runs thanks to a diving stop and double play started by Ramon Vazquez from his stomach. It was the first spring game for Vazquez, who has been rehabilitating a right knee surgically repaired a week before Thanksgiving. He went 0 for 2 at the plate.

After the Phillies grabbed a 2-0 lead off Hart, McCutchen opened the home half of the inning with a line-drive single and then stole second. Jeff Clement doubled him home, for Clement's first RBI this spring. Church followed with a homer high down the right-field line off a 1-0 pitch.

The Phillies tied it at 3-3 in the seventh when Carlos Ruiz doubled, advanced on a Freddy Galvis groundout and scored on Greg Dobbs' sacrifice fly.

Brendan Donnelly, in his first appearance of spring, struck out two batters in his hitless fifth. Left-hander Jack Taschner allowed one hit and struck out the three other batters in the sixth. D.J. Carrasco struck out two, walked one and allowed one hit in his two innings of work.

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First published on March 6, 2010 at 4:30 pm