Every trip out to the mound, left-hander Jeff Locke is excited for the opportunity and the experience. The 23-year-old rookie made his second Major League start on Friday night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was the first time Locke has ever been in a different time zone, having only pitched on the East Coast in his young career.
Locke needed 68 pitches to get through three frames, ending his night prematurely in the Pirates 7-2 loss.
After tossing a scoreless 1st inning, the Dodgers plated a run off Locke in the 2nd inning. Back-to-back doubles by Jerry Sands and Rod Barajas tied the game up at 1.
The 3rd inning turned out to the be the last for the rookie. Locke needed 33 pitches to get through the frame, the Dodgers tacking on two more runs.
Dee Gordon singled to center and Justin Sellers drew a walk before All-Star Matt Kemp came to the plate. Kemp ripped a RBI single to left field and Juan Rivera followed with a RBI nock to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.
Overall, Locke was charged with three runs on five hits over three innings. He walked two and didn’t strike out a batter in his second ML start.
The move to pull Locke after just three frames had more to do about pitch count and his innings pitched this season. Locke is already pitching in a month that he is not familiar with and the Pirates plan to be cautious with their No. 8 overall prospect in the system.
Alex Presley hit a line drive solo-shot to right-center field in the 6th inning to bring the game within one run. But the Dodgers blew the game open in the 6th inning, cruising onto a 7-2 win.
With one out, right-hander Daniel McCutchen allowed three straight singles to load the bases. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle called upon left-hander Daniel Moskos to face Gordon.
Gordon hit a grounder up the left side for a routine double play. But Pedro Alvarez’s throw to second base pulled Neil Walker off the bag, allowing Gordon to be safe at first base, plating a run.
Hurdle called upon Chris Resop to get out of the inning. With two outs, pinch-hitter James Loney took a 3-2 fastball for a three-run shot, pushing the game out of reach for the Pirates.
With the 7-2 loss, the Pirates drop to 68-83 on the season. Right-hander James McDonald (9-8, 4.09 ERA) will make his first start at Dodger stadium since being traded to Pittsburgh last season. Saturday will mark exactly three-years since he made his Major League debut with Los Angeles. McDonald will face left-hander Ted Lilly (9-14, 4.39 ERA).
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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