PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Pat Burrell hit his 37th home run and rookie Eric Junge notched his first career win Saturday night as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1.
In just his third major league season, Burrell became the first Phillie to reach the 37-homer plateau since Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in 1987 by launching a solo blast to left field with one out in the eighth inning. It also gave the 25-year-old slugger 113 RBI, a Philadelphia mark also last reached in 1987 by Schmidt.
Making his first major league start in place of Brandon Duckworth, who was a late scratch due to a sore back, Junge (1-0) allowed an unearned run and four hits in five innings.
The 25-year-old righthander walked four and struck out five in just his second appearance in the major leagues.
Jose Mesa tossed a perfect ninth for his 40th save, becoming the first Phillie to post two 40-save seasons.
Pittsburgh starter Brian Meadows (1-6) yielded three runs and five hits in five innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Meadows, who fell to 3-2 lifetime against Philadelphia, is winless in five starts.
