The Pittsburgh Pirates scored all of its runs with two outs in the inning and earned a second consecutive series victory with its 5-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.
“We always love it, we’ve definitely had our share,” manager Clint Hurdle said of the two out hitting. “They hurt when you’re in the dugout and you feel it. It comes down to putting away innings and Locke didn’t give up one tonight. At the end of the night they left 10 runners on base so they had their opportunities to do the same.”
Jung-Ho Kang started the scoring with a single which plated Josh Harrison. Harrison had singled to open the bottom of the first inning.
Harrison then made a defensive play in the top of the second inning robbing Jeff Baker of extra bases. The leaping grab reduced Andrew McCutchen to laughter as he tried to navigate a route in right field.
“When he hit it I froze because coming off a right-hander’s bat in right field sometimes the ball can slice,” Harrison said as he used both hand gestures and his body to re-illustrate the play. “I broke down and tried to figure out which way it was going and I took a step to the right and it sliced and that’s when I redirected. If my first step was to go all out this way, I probably would have gotten turned around and that’s why I froze to see it.”
The Pirates added another three runs in the second inning. Jordy Mercer reached base with a single and Harrison brought him home with his 12th double of the season. Neil Walker then followed with an opposite field home run, his third of the season.
“Whether you’re a rookie or a 15 year vet, you always want to jump on him early,” said Harrison. “Sometimes with a younger guy it takes some time for him to get his composure. Regardless of who is on the mound, we want to get to them early.”
Pedro Alvarez continued the Pirates scoring with his single. This allowed Starling Marte to cross home plate. Marte hit his 11th double two batters earlier.
The Alvarez single ended Jose Urena’s [0-1] first major league start.
Jeff Locke [3-2] earned the victory, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing four hits while walking four to go with six strikeouts. Locke threw 104 pitches, 60 of which were for strikes.
A Martin Prado double in the seventh inning accounted for the lone Marlins run of the game. It was the third earned run Rob Scahill has surrendered this season.
Arquimedes Caminero pitched the final two innings in the game against his former team. He struck out the side in the eighth inning.
“I was trying to do the same thing I try to do every day,” Caminero said. “Do my job out there, get after it and help my team win.”
The Pirates now have had a starting pitcher win each of the five games during the current winning streak.
“I think everybody’s goal is to come in and respectfully outdo each other any way we can,” Locke said. “The better those guys do, the better this team will do, we all like to think it starts with us, especially at home.”
This win secures a winning homestand for the Pirates. The homestand will conclude Wednesday afternoon as Gerrit Cole [6-2 2.05 ERA] takes on Brad Hand [0-1 5.48 ERA]. Cole is 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against the Marlins. Hand, a left-handed pitcher will make his first start of the season. He made one start allowing two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings.
Photo credit: AP Photo
