Game Two: Jeff Locke (1-2, 4.68ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (6-0, 1.13ERA)
Result: Pirates lose 8-2
Winning Pitcher: Jake Arrieta (7-0, 1.29ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Jeff Locke (1-3, 5.45ERA)
- What went right:
- Francisco Cervelli had what seemed like a big two-RBI single in the fourth inning. He finished the game going 1-4 with two RBI.
- Andrew McCutchen had a solid game as he went 1-4 with a run scored.
- Gregory Polanco went 1-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
- Jung Ho Kang reached base twice as he went 0-1 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
- What went wrong:
- Once the Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the fourth Jake Arreta settled down and once again dominated the Pirates. He went eight innings, allowed two runs on three hits and struck out 11.
- Jeff Locke looked good for three innings, but once the Pirates took the lead in the top of the fourth, he completely fell apart, giving the Cubs the lead in the same inning. When he left the game, he ended up allowing six runs on six hits in just 5.1 innings of work.
- Jason Heyward busted out of his mini funk as he went 3-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
- Anthony Rizzo had a big game and hit the deciding home run. He finished going 2-5 with a home run, a run scored and four RBI.
When people saw the pitching match-up of Arrieta vs. Locke most had this game penciled in the loss column for the Pirates, but the team came out and looked much better against Arrieta than normal, but it all fell apart in the fourth inning. One of the unforgivable sins for a pitcher is giving the lead right back when your team scores some runs for you. Locke looked pretty good through three innings, but when it went bad, it went really bad.
Another series loss to the Cubs and this game may have been the most frustrating. The Pirates looked to avoid the sweep with their ace on the mound.
Game Three: Gerrit Cole vs. Jon Lester
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