Pitted against one of the best pitchers in baseball, left-hander Jeff Locke was superb. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings and squarely defeated left-hander Madison Bumgarner, the San Francisco Giants ace who hadn’t lost since April 20.
And that wasn’t even the most surprising occurrence Monday night at PNC Park.
Erik Kratz, the light-hitting catcher just recently acquired, knocked a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning to snap an 0-for-16 slump since joining the Pirates. It proved the difference in a 1-0 Pirates win in a series opener and ended their five-game losing streak.