In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
Unlikely Heroes
Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the San Francisco Giants by a score of 1-0. The game was a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel featuring Madison Bumgarner…and Jeff Locke. I don’t think anyone expected Locke to throw 6.2 innings of shutout ball, but they play the games for a reason and Locke matched the Giants’ ace pitch for pitch.
The other hero of the game was Erik Kratz, who homered to break his 0-16 hitless streak, which was all the offense either team could muster.
Raise your hand if you had Jeff Locke matching Madison Bumgarner and Erik Kratz hitting a home run. Now put your hand down because you are most certainly lying, but that’s what makes baseball such a great game; you truly never know what you’re going to get on a game by game basis.
Our twitter followers seem to agree that Jeff Locke was the hero of the day because he won our player of the game poll:
Who is your Player of the Game after the #PIrates' 1-0 win against the Giants?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) June 21, 2016
The bullpen does its job
As a result of Jeff Locke nearly going seven innings, the Pirates had their bullpen set up absolutely perfectly as Neftali Feliz, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon each put up a zero and sealed the victory.
Locke had an extremely short leash, as he was pulled the moment had allowed a base-runner in the seventh inning, despite the opposing pitcher, Bumgarner being up to bat. Given how Locke’s last couple starts have gone, it’s understandable that Clint Hurdle would have a very short leash for the left hander.
Baseball Talk on the web
17 single-game achievements more impressive than a no-hitter.
Stars you can expect at MLB’s celebrity softball game.
10 players who could use an All Star voting boost
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