Locke's best start
Jeff Locke was simply spectacular this evening. He controlled his fastball, darting it to the corners at will. The changeup and curve kept Cleveland batters off balance, inducing ground ball after ground ball (11 ground outs). And, man, was he efficient: Locke tossed 89 pitches, 60 for strikes over eight innings.
"I can't speak enough about Locke's effort tonight. Fantastic," Clint Hurdle said. "Overall command [was excellent]. That was just fun to watch, man."
The problem was that Cody Anderson matched the Pirates left-hander for most of the day. After missing excellent opportunities to score in the first and third, the Bucs cashed in for a run in the sixth.