Salisbury's Instant Replay: Phils 8, Pirates 3

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BOX SCORE

The Phillies jumped to an early lead and rolled to an 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night.

Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz led the offense and Joe Blanton got the pitching win.

The Phillies are 4-3 on the homestand with three games remaining, all against the Pirates.

Starting pitching report
Blanton delivered a solid start, allowing three runs, one of which was unearned, over seven innings. He allowed seven hits, including his 18th home run, and struck out eight. He is 7-6 with a 4.87 ERA.

Righthander Jeff Karstens (0-2) came off the disabled list and was hit hard – 11 hits and seven runs in five innings.

Bullpen report
Lefty Jake Diekman walked the first batter he faced in the eighth, but roared back with a double-play ball and a strikeout.

Chad Qualls got the final three outs.

At the plate
Rollins set an early tone. He doubled to open the bottom of the first and scored the first of the Phillies’ four runs in that inning. Rollins also smacked a two-run homer on a 3-0 pitch from Karstens in the fourth. Rollins is hitting .327 (33 for 101) this month with six homers and 15 RBIs. He has 17 extra-base hits in June. Rollins has homered four times in the last five days. Carlos Ruiz had three hits and scored three runs. He is hitting .354.

Jose Tabata homered for Pittsburgh.

In the field
The teams combined for six errors, four by Pittsburgh. The Pirates made three of those errors in the first inning to help fuel a four-run rally for the Phillies.

Transaction
Catcher Brian Schneider was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle and catcher Erik Kratz was called up from Triple A.

Utley update
Chase Utley worked out with the team before Monday night’s game and is set to play for Triple A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night (see story). If all goes well, Utley will be activated for Wednesday night’s game in Philadelphia. He has yet to play in the majors this season. Utley says his knees feel better than they have in several years.

Up next
Vance Worley (3-4, 2.78) and lefty Erik Bedard (4-7, 4.13) are the pitchers Tuesday night.

E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com