Jeff Locke and Lucas Harrell were locked into a tight, well-pitched battle at PNC on Sunday as both pitched seven strong, but Harrell\u2019s one mistake, a homer to Pedro Alvarez, proved to be the difference in a Bucco 1 \u2013 0 victory. Locke enjoyed the fact that he was in a pitchers-duel as he did not allow a runner past second base. \u201cIt just motivates you even more to go out there and keep competing against him and the rest of their lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither team recorded their first hit till the fifth inning when Carlos Corporan led-off the inning with a single. The Astros would do nothing with the hit, though, as three straight groundouts ended the inning. The Pirates, on the other hand, took advantage of their first hit as Pedro Alvarez sent a Harrell pitch, which was out and away, just inside the left field foul pole on a line for his 8th<\/sup> homer of the year and a Pirate 1 \u2013 0 lead.<\/p>\n The ball was also the first hit out of the infield for the Bucs on the day. \u201cIt\u2019s the shortest homerun he might have hit.\u201d Said Manager Clint Hurdle. \u201cIt\u2019s good hitting. It will reaffirm Petey, \u201cThat ball out there, you can barrel it up and hit it out of this ballpark\u201d.\u201d<\/p>\n The one run would be good enough, though, as Locke finished the 7th<\/sup> then handed the ball over to the dynamic duo of Melancon and Grilli (Save # 17) to shut the door on the Astros for the series victory. Final Score: Pirates 1, Astros 0.<\/p>\n The Pirates will have a day off before a 3-game home series against the Cubs.\u00a0First pitch is\u00a0Tuesday at 7:05.<\/p>\n Starters Lines:<\/p>\n Locke (Win): 7 IN, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s. 94 Pitches (55 Strikes)<\/p>\n Harrell (Loss): 7 IN, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s, 1 HR. 97 Pitches (64 Strikes)<\/p>\n (Photo Credit: Peter Diana)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeff Locke and Lucas Harrell were locked into a tight, well-pitched battle at PNC on Sunday as both pitched seven strong, but Harrell\u2019s one mistake, a homer to Pedro Alvarez, proved to be the difference in a Bucco 1 \u2013 0 victory. Locke enjoyed the fact that he was in a pitchers-duel as he did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[855,1230,2164,520,610,377],"class_list":["post-15226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional","tag-houston-astros","tag-jeff-locke","tag-lucas-harrell","tag-mlb","tag-pedro-alvarez","tag-pittsburgh-pirates"],"yoast_head":"\n