RECAP - Padres - 5 / Pirates - 2

The City of Pittsburgh is Begging for Something to Cheer

Pittsburgh Pirates - 2
San Diego Padres - 5

WP - Stults
LP - Locke
S - Gregerson

I know that I've said it what seems like a million times, but following the Pittsburgh Pirates has more up and downs, twists and turns, fears and joys as the Steel Phantom at Kennywood amusement park.  This can be said as a collective group, and even each individual player.  Last night Jeff Locke took the mound and Pirates fans were hopeful that he had finally "made the turn" and was back to his All-Star self after his first win in well over a month.  With every up there is a down, and Locke came out and struggled...again.  Locke's final stat line might not seem that bad, but there is more than meets the eye.  Locke finished 5 innings pitched, 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, and a plunked a batter in the dome.  His biggest mistake was a 3 run home run that gave the Padres a 3-0...a lead against this Pirates offense that seems insurmountable.  As I listened to the game, it was clear to everyone (even Bob Walk) that Locke just wasn't making good pitches.  In the 4th inning Locke was ahead in the count 0-2 and threw a belt high inside fastball that was sent into the corner for a stand up double.  Its situations like that where there shouldn't be a pitch thrown that is even close to being put into play.  If the player puts it into play, it should be a groundball or a lazy pop fly.  In other words, don't give the hitter a pitch that he is able to drive.  Its these mistakes that is leaving Jeff Locke as a question mark for this team as they approach the postseason.

The offense continues to baffle.  The Pirates scored 2 runs mostly because of a OF error when a Marlon Byrd hit was misjudged.  That mistake scored both Jeff Locke and Andrew McCutchen and that was all the offense production the Pirates would muster on Tuesday night.  On a night where all of Pittsburgh and their fans were hoping the Buccos would provide something good to talk about (Lord knows the 1 hitter and the pitiful Steelers weren't fun to talk about) they laid an egg...again.  I am not here to say that the Pirates are done.  They are far from done, but don't think that things aren't getting alot more interesting than they were even a week ago.  With the Pirates' second consecutive loss they fall back to 1 game behind the Cardinals in the division.  The Reds won last night and they climbed to withing 1.5 games of second place.  In other words, this is a 3 horse race again, but its been that way for a while.  The wild card is even getting more interesting.  What used to be thought as a "gimme" is now not so certain.  The Washington Nationals continue to win baseball games as they have turned their season around and are now only 4.5 games out of the 2nd wild card spot.  Do the math, and the Pirates are 6 games ahead of the Nationals in the wild card standings with 11 games left. 

The magic number remains at 6 for the Pirates to clinch a playoff spot, but with this spotty team nothing is a certainty.  The next two games against the Padres are crucial for the success of this team.  The Padres give the Pirates fits (for some unknown reason), but if you look at the other contenders, their matchups are also interesting.  The Cardinals have 2 more in Colorado before heading to Milwaukee for 3.  The Reds are in Houston tonight and then have a day off before heading to PNC Park for a huge matchup with the Battlin Buccos.  The Nationals have one more against the Braves before heading to South Beach to play the Marlins.  The one thing that is certain to shake things out in regards to this NL Central / Wild Card discussion is the fact that the Cardinals have a 3 game set with the Nationals in St. Louis next week.  If the Pirates are able to win, the Cardinals or Nationals will be brought back to Earth.  All the more reason that these 2 games at home against the Padres before the Reds come to town are gigantic.  With Charlie Morton and Gerrit Cole taking the mound the next 2 days, it will be intersting to see if the Buccos are ready to climb a hill on their roller coaster, or if they continue on their current downward spiral.