PITTSBURGH - In response to a question I asked about the effectiveness of his pitches last night, Jeff Locke mentioned that he threw just one breaking ball, the pitch that caught Mike Trout for a strikeout looking to end the first inning.
Clint Hurdle confirmed this morning that Locke has been working on a different, harder breaking pitch, similar to a “slurve,” with average velocity between his fastball (90-92 MPH) and his changeup (81-83 MPH). MLB’s Statcast system identified that pitch last night as a changeup, but it’s velocity (85 MPH), spin rate, and break angle were all noticeably different from those of Locke’s changeup.