It looked early on like last night was going to be another laugher. Within the game’s first four hitters, Josh Harrison had doubled, Andrew McCutchen singled him in, and Jung Ho Kang homered to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. The Pirates only had two more hits across the ensuing game.
That didn’t matter, though, as the 3-0 lead four batters into the game was enough. Jeff Locke turned in his best start since April by striking out eight White Sox and cruising through five innings without even breaking a sweat. The shutout streak ended when Locke got into trouble in the sixth, but he escaped the inning intact and handed the lead over to Arquimedes Caminero, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon, who shut the White Sox down without incident.
When things are going right, they’re really going right. The Pirates handed their worst starter a 3-0 lead, got two hits over the last eight innings, and won their seventh game in a row. I suspect that this is why Jeff Locke stays in the rotation. His lows can be pretty low, but he’s also capable of giving you eight strikeouts and a bunch of ground balls in six innings in a game where you need eight strikeouts and a bunch of ground balls in six innings. Obviously the consistency’s not there, but Locke’s last two starts have been excellent (12 innings, 10 strikeouts, three walks, nine hits, two runs) and they’ve enabled the Pirates to win a 1-0 game and a 3-2 game. I imagine most teams would kill for a couple of starts like these from a fifth starter, and these starts are worth bearing in mind the next time he goes out and gives up six runs on 109 pitches in four innings (and mind you, that will happen again).
Anyway, the Pirates won, the Cardinals lost. Seven wins in a row and 20 in 25 is nice, but hey, Gerrit Cole’s starting tonight, so let’s get greedy!
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