Pirates Flatten Phillies 9-1

Brian Giles usually doesn't stop to admire his home runs. This time, he missed a pretty good show.

Giles hit a monster three-run homer and Al Martin had a bases-loaded double as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored eight runs in the fourth inning to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 Wednesday night.

Â"I'm not a home run hitter so I don't watch them,Â" Giles said. Â"I just drop the bat and go.Â"

He said he didn't even catch the replay on the scoreboard.

Everyone else watched the big blow that put the finishing touch on the Pirates' biggest inning of the season.

Â"Usually you can tell when they're gone but I did step out of the dugout for that one,Â" Pirates manager Gene Lamont said. Â"I wanted to see where that one landed because he got all of it.Â"

Said Martin, who was on second base, Â"I watched it. He did, too. He's lying when he says he doesn't. It was pretty impressive. He's an impressive hitter, a little fireplug.Â"

The ball landed in the third level of seats, a distance that was estimated at 457 feet.

Â"That ball is probably still going if it didn't hit a wall up there,Â" Phillies manager Terry Francona said.

The game was scoreless until the Pirates broke loose for their biggest inning of the season against Chad Ogea (4-7).

Jason Schmidt (8-5) won consecutive starts for the first time since May 2. Trying for his first career shutout in his 100th major league start, he blanked the Phillies until Bobby Abreu homered in the eighth.

Schmidt pitched eight innings and allowed eight hits, striking out seven. He had alternated wins and losses in his last five starts.

Ogea had his worst start of the season, getting chased after 3 2-3 innings. He allowed seven runs to Atlanta in 3 1-3 innings on April 6, his first start of the year.

Â"It was just kind of like the wheels fell off in that inning,Â" Ogea said. Â"I don't really know what to say abou it.Â"

The Pirates' big inning started when Kevin Young singled with one out. Jason Kendall walked and Warren Morris singled home the first run.

Brant Brown hit an RBI double, Mike Benjamin was walked intentionally and Schmidt struck out.

Francona said he ordered the walk to Benjamin, a .219 hitter, because he was worried about falling behind more than the 2-0 deficit already in place.

Â"If we get Martin out, we can keep it at 2-0 and I didn't want to get much further behind than that because of the way Schmidt was throwing,Â" he said. Â"You take a chance and it didn't work.Â"

Asked if he would rather have pitched to Benjamin, Ogea said, Â"Sure. Definitely.Â"

But Martin cleared the bases with a double and after Ed Sprague walked, Giles homered.

Notes: The Pirates' biggest previous inning had been seven runs against Montreal on May 16, also in the fourth. ... The eight-run inning tied the Phillies' season worst. They gave up eight to the Braves on April 6 and to the Yankees on June 9. ... Pirates reliever Rich Loiselle reported pain in his elbow after throwing 10 minutes of batting practice Wednesday afternoon. Loiselle, who has been on the disabled list since May 9, fears he may need surgery. ... The Pirates had 38 home runs in June after hitting 36 in the season's first two months.

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