RECAP - Pirates - 3 / Cubs - 1

Welcome Back Jeffy! We've Missed You Since the Break

Pittsburgh Pirates - 3
Chicago Cubs - 1

WP - Jeff Locke (I'm 100% serious too)
LP - Rusin
S - Melancon (14)

The Pirates won their 4th game in a row last night as they defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in a very tightly contested game.  The Cubs took a 1-0 advantage only to see great defensive plays and timely hitting wipe their lead away and give the Pirates the eventual lead and victory...read that sentence again and its hard to believe that I'm talking about the Pirates.  The Buccos were flashing the leather last night for sure.  Whether it was Jordy Mercer's incredible jump throw from the hole to gun out a runner at first (kudos to Justin Morneau's phenomenal snag at first base too), or Andrew McCutchen's unbelievable lay out catch in center field to rob the Cubbies of a base hit.  The Pirates defense hasn't been talked about enough this year.  Sure there have been gaffes from time to time, but show me a team that doesn't play "keystone cops" from time to time...it happens to everyone.  When Marte returns to the lineup the Pirates defense will only get better and the depth they have on defense is tremendous.  Clint Barmes might not be a very good offensive player, but he makes up for it with his defense.  Josh Harrison is a versatile player that can play the IF and OF, and Jose Tabata can move around the OF if needed.  The Bucco Defense is every bit a reason for their success as their pitching, in my opinion.  The Buccos have alot of pitchers (Locke and Morton especially) that aren't strikeout artists and rely on ground outs and fly outs to get out of trouble.  The Pirates have been a team that can bail out their pitcher when needed.

Speaking of pitching, Jeff Locke got himself his first win since early June and to say that is a good sign is an understatement.  It wasn't like Locke had his usual "I pitched like garbage but the offense bailed me out win...", no he was in control of his fastball, keeping in low in the strike zone and getting his usual ground outs.  His breaking stuff was accurate as well.  His stat line supports my thoughts: 7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk (thats HUGE with Jeff Locke), and 5 strikeouts.  As horrible as Jeff Locke has been since the All Star break, his ERA is 3.14...not too bad if you ask me.  The Pirates need Jeff Locke to duplicate these starts if they want to win their division and earn their way into a series and not just a "play in" game.  All that said, I've always liked Jeff Locke and was pumped that he gave the Pirates a quality start.

Remember I mentioned clutch hits for the Pirates?  Yeah they got those.  Remember what I ALWAYS say, it isn't how many hits you have, but when you have them.  The Pirates only recorded 6 hits, and I'm sure Pittsburgh talk radio heads will be complaining about that, but the Pirates got hits when they needed them.  Marlon Byrd's single to score Cutch, Jordy Mercer's double that scored Barmes from first, or Alvarez's rocket off the Clemente wall that plated a run.  I'll take a 6 hit with 3 run stat line any day rather than 10 hit with Pirates left stranded every inning outing.  The Pirates are playing solid baseball and it almost seems like they have relaxed since winning their 82nd game.  Thats a good thing as they just won their 85th game and are now tied again with the Cardinals atop the NL Central.  Things will only get more interesting as this home stand and the remainder of the season plays out.  9 more wins until the Pirates clinch a playoff spot.  Lets Go Bucs!