Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – McCutchen Locked In

Andrew McCutchen homers twice to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pittsburgh Pirates won back-to-back games for the first time since June 7th on the backs of Andrew McCutchen and Jeff Locke. It would be ignorant to say the rest of the team wasn’t needed. Locke was backed by solid defense early. He was perfect through five innings. He outpitched Kenta Maeda in a battle of pitchers who struggle the third time through the order.

Takeaways:

• Don’t call it a comeback. McCutchen still has a lot to prove. He was phenomenal tonight. No one can steal that from him, but the face of the franchise will have to be consistently good moving forward. McCutchen looked helpless swinging at a slider for a strikeout in his first at-bat. Both home runs came off of hanging fastballs over the middle of the plate. He destroyed both pitches, but elite hitters are supposed to do that. Give him the praise and respect he deserves, but don’t start calling for the comeback yet.
• Jeff Locke had a 3.26 ERA at PNC Park in 2016 entering the night. He lowered his home ERA to 2.96 with one earned run over seven innings. He painted the black early and consistently. As previously mentioned, Locke was backed by some solid defensive plays. The Pirates shifting also played a big role saving Locke several times through the first three innings.

Throwaways:

• The third time through the lineup has been a problem for Locke for much of his career. Tonight was no exception. The control wasn’t there starting in the sixth. It wasn’t necessarily the results. The Dodgers got some solid contact with the Scott Van Slyke and A.J. Ellis doubles. Even the outs were sharply hit, namely the Adrian Gonzalez lineout in the seventh.
• Water coolers at PNC Park should be very, very afraid. After allowing a two-run home run to Jordy Mercer, Joe Blanton slammed a cooler to the ground in the dugout. In any sport, there is a big difference between passion and temper. Even the most even-keeled players can let things get under their skin in the heat of the moment. Letting it lash out instead of using it to fuel that inner fire is a big mistake, one that earns Blanton a throwaway.

Bonus Throwaway:

• Locke works quickly. At times, it makes him more effective. At other times, it can be problematic. His quick delivery wreaked havoc on the efficiency of home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Throughout the game, Kulpa repeatedly adjusted as the pitch was being delivered, even standing almost completely up from the crouch at times. This resulted in pitches being called strikes both high and low way out of the zone. As a result, Locke benefited on some key calls.

W – Jeff Locke

L – Kenta Maeda

Line of the Night:

It’s hard to steal this one away from Jeff Locke, but I’ll go with the player who has seemingly had fewer productive games this season Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen single-handedly won the game offensively with his two home runs and four RBI. On a night when the rest of the lineup did nothing against Maeda, he played a huge role. With his two hits tonight, McCutchen is once again over the Mendoza line for June with a .207 average. He will need to once again play a big role against one of baseball’s best pitchers tomorrow.

Up Next:

On ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the Pirates face the herculean task of opposing Clayton Kershaw (11-1, 1.57 ERA). If there is any silver lining, Kershaw holds a 3.63 ERA and 1-0 record in six career games at PNC Park. Opposing him will likely be International League standout Chad Kuhl. Yesterday, we broke the news that Kuhl is expected to make his major league debut in place of Gerrit Cole, who remains on the disabled list. Kuhl holds a 6-2 record and a 2.58 ERA in 14 games with the Indianapolis Indians this season. The first pitch is set for 8:08 tomorrow night in game three of the four game series.