Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Lock Locke Away

After every Pittsburgh Pirates game this season, we give you our Takeaways & Throwaways from the previous game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the Milwaukee Brewers tonight by a final score of 9-5. Jeff Locke didn’t look good at all, and he has us all wondering whether this was his last start in the Pirates uniform. The bullpen didn’t look great either. Fortunately the Pirates have a chance tomorrow to take the series with Francisco Liriano on the mound.

Takeaways

• Starling Marte continues to be the best player on this team. Not only did he notch two hits, but he stole another base and briefly tied Jonathan Villar for the major league lead in steals before Villar took the lead back later in the game. What has made Marte so great this season compared to guys like Gregory Polanco and David Freese is how consistent he’s been all year. Other guys go through slumps, but Marte continues to rake night-in and night-out.
• David Freese also had a great night. Bob Walk mentioned on the Root broadcast that, in terms of exit velocity, Freese is the hardest-hitting batter on the team, and that showed tonight. He had two hits and an RBI as he continues to push for starting time at third and first. He’s much better offensively than either Jung Ho Kang or John Jaso, and I’d like to see him starting more.
• Adam Fraziert continues to be a tremendous spark plug for the Pirates this season. His effort to first base on a ground ball helped lead to a rushed throw that went past first, allowing Frazier to advance to second. He would eventually score on the play. It’s guys like Frazier that make a quiet impact for a playoff contender down the stretch run.

Throwaways

• It is long past time for the Pirates to remove Jeff Locke from the rotation. He hasn’t shown any signs of improvement this season like the Pirates had hoped for, and it’s to the point where there are better options at Triple-A to take his spot in Chad Kuhl and even Steven Brault. He tied for his shortest start of the year tonight with just three innings of work, and he’s gotten worse in June and July. Move him to the bullpen for now, but give his rotation spot to Chad Kuhl. Kuhl deserves it, and Locke doesn’t.
• Outside of Locke, the Pirates bullpen didn’t pitch well either. The biggest problem had to be the walks they allowed, as four of the five Pirates pitchers walked at least one batter and nine walks were issued in total. Locke and A.J. Schugel took the brunt of the damage, and Juan Nicasio allowed a run as well. Luckily, I see one of Schugel, Locke, or Nicasio being replaced by Ryan Vogelsong when he returns from the disabled list, and another could be replaced by a trade deadline pickup.
• There were two oddities that I saw tonight that I’d like to point out as well. First, Clint Hurdle was ejected in the first inning for arguing whether a foul ball hit Ryan Braun in fair territory, as the hit was ruled foul. After about five seconds of yelling from the dugout, Hurdle was tossed. He didn’t seem to curse either. Odd to say the least. Second, a fan snagged a Scooter Gennett hit down the right field line that ended up scoring two in the third inning. If the fan wouldn’t have grabbed that ball, the damage might have been limited to one run instead of two. Too bad we’ll never know.

Line of the Night

Starling Marte – 4 AB | 1 R | 2 H | 0 RBI | 1 BB | 0 SO | 1 SB

Marte showed tonight why he’s the best player on this team, both at the plate and on the bases.

Next Up

The Pirates look to take the series tomorrow night against the Brewers at 7:05 PM. Francisco Liriano looks to continue his string of good starts recently as he faces off against Matt Garza, who is making just his seventh start of the season.

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