With JA Happ pitching well and AJ Burnett throwing sim games conspicuously scheduled for the same day as one of his starts, Jeff Locke has to know that his starting job is (once again) on the line as we head towards the final month of the 2015 season. He hasn’t completed the sixth inning in a start since July 19th, though that’s partially due to the Pirates’ deepened bullpen allowing Clint Hurdle to use an appropriately quick hook with him.
He’ll face Chris Narveson, who’s making his first start since 2012. He’s worked in relief a bit for the Marlins this year with decent results, other than that half of the hits he’s allowed have been home runs. The Pirates will greet his return to starting with their basic pre-infield-injury-return lineup that includes Jung Hog Kang at short and Aramis Ramirez at third.
First pitch tonight is at 7:10.
