Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap: The Jaso Show

Game Two: Jeff Locke (1-2, 4.73ERA) vs. Adam Wainwright (2-3, 6.68ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 6-4

Winning Pitcher: Trevor Rosenthal (1-1, 1.80ERA)

Losing Pitcher: A.J. Schugel 0-1, 4.40ERA)

• What went right:
  • Jeff Locke had a fairly good outing. He had one poor inning, but was mostly solid. He finished with six innings, allowed three runs on four hits and struck out one.
  • John Jaso had a nice day from the lead-off spot. He went 2-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
  • Starling Marte was the Pirates’ main weapon of the day. He hit the game-tying double in the ninth inning and finished the game 2-5 with one RBI.
  • Josh Harrison went 2-4.

• What wrong:
  • Matt Carpenter was a Pirate-killer as usual. He went 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. He also hit the walk-off home run to win the game for the Cardinals.
  • Randal Grichuk also had a big game as he went 2-4 with three RBI.
  • Jared Hughes did not look great in relief. He only one run on two hits and two walks in just one inning of work.
  • A.J. Schugel allowed the walk-off home run off the bat of Carpenter.

The Pirates wasted a good Jeff Locke outing by allowing the Cardinals to walk this game off. This was a typical Pirates-Cardinals game at Busch Stadium as it was close and the home team came away with a victory. This was a frustrating game, but nothing overly surprising given the two teams’ history. The home team generally has the advantage and wins a close game.

Despite the loss, the Pirates were in a good position to win the series with Gerrit Cole on the bump for game three.

Game Three: Gerrit Cole vs. Michael Wacha