PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — The Pittsburgh Pirates used a balanced offensive attack and a strong bullpen performance to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, splitting a four-game series before 37,851 fans in 3 hours, 2 minutes.

Pittsburgh, which entered the game having lost two straight in the series, scored in four consecutive innings from the fifth through the ninth. The Pirates collected 14 hits while holding the Phillies to four hits. Right-hander Jared Jones earned top star honors for Pittsburgh after allowing one earned run on two hits with six strikeouts over four innings, continuing a solid stretch after a pair of recent outings that included a loss to Cincinnati on June 27 and a win at Colorado on June 21.

The game remained scoreless through the first two innings as both starting pitchers worked efficiently. Pittsburgh’s Jones struck out the side in the first inning, fanning Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Philadelphia starter Alan Rangel matched him by retiring the side in order in the first and working around a double by Ryan O’Hearn in the second.

The Phillies struck first in the third inning. Rafael Marchán drew a one-out walk, and after Trea Turner struck out, Kyle Schwarber walked to put two on. Bryce Harper then doubled sharply to left field, scoring Marchán and moving Schwarber to third. Brandon Marsh lined out to end the inning with Philadelphia ahead 1-0.

Pittsburgh answered in the fifth. Jake Mangum led off with a double to right field. Brandon Lowe singled to left, putting runners at the corners. After Bryan Reynolds struck out, Esmerlyn Valdez singled to center field, scoring Mangum and tying the game 1-1. The Pirates then grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Pirates took the lead for good in the seventh. Brandon Lowe led off with a single to left. After Reynolds lined out, Valdez tripled sharply to center field, scoring Lowe. Ryan O’Hearn struck out, but Nick Gonzales singled to center, bringing home Valdez for a 3-1 Pittsburgh advantage. Marcell Ozuna struck out to end the inning.

Pittsburgh added two more runs in the eighth. Endy Rodríguez led off with a solo home run to center field, his fifth of the season. Jared Triolo struck out, but Mangum singled and Lowe walked. Bryan Reynolds walked to load the bases, and Valdez delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Mangum to make it 5-1. O’Hearn struck out to end the inning.

The Pirates capped the scoring in the ninth when Nick Gonzales led off with a solo home run to left-center, his fourth of the year. Ozuna struck out, Rodríguez flied out and Triolo grounded out.

Philadelphia’s best chance to rally came in the third when they scored their only run, but the Pirates’ bullpen shut them down the rest of the way. Carmen Mlodzinski earned the win, improving to 5-3, after pitching three scoreless innings, allowing two hits with no walks and one strikeout. Mason Montgomery struck out three in a perfect eighth, and Gregory Soto struck out one in a perfect ninth.

José Alvarado took the loss for Philadelphia, falling to 3-3. He pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing four runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Rangel worked four innings, allowing no earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Kyle Backhus allowed one earned run in one inning, and Tim Mayza allowed one earned run in one inning.

The Phillies managed only four hits in the game, with Bryce Harper’s double driving in their only run. Bryson Stott and Trea Turner each had a single. For Pittsburgh, Nick Gonzales went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a home run. Esmerlyn Valdez went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a triple. Jake Mangum had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs. Brandon Lowe singled twice and walked, scoring twice.

The victory pulled Pittsburgh to 44-44 on the season, while Philadelphia fell to 50-39. The Pirates avoided being swept in the four-game series after losing the first two games 10-6 and 8-0 before winning Wednesday’s contest 11-7 and Thursday’s finale.

The game’s most important moment came in the seventh inning when Valdez’s triple broke a 1-1 tie and gave Pittsburgh a lead it never relinquished. The hit extended the Pirates’ momentum after they had tied the game in the fifth.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 7, Pittsburgh 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Philadelphia with a 62.10 percent probability to win. Philadelphia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over/under line of 10.5.