In past years winning a game in Milwaukee was a very hard accomplishment, however in 2015 Miller Park was the home of the first Pittsburgh Pirates win this season. The Pirates won Friday night’s game by a 6-2 score.
Locke [1-0] pitched six innings allowing seven hits and two runs while walking one batter and striking out two. Locke also helped his cause with an RBI double in the second inning as part of a three-run second inning. Locke threw 90 pitches in this game with 62 ending up as strikes.
Mike Fiers [0-1] was tagged for five runs in as many innings. In that second inning he allowed Pedro Alvarez to hit an RBI single that scored Neil Walker, a sacrifice fly from Jordy Mercer and the Locke double.
Alvarez continued his recent tear with a solo home run to start the top of the fourth inning. It was his second consecutive game with a home run. Alvarez went 2-for-4 at the plate has a batting average of .357 to start the season.
The Brewers replied with two runs in their half of the fourth inning when free agent acquisition Adam Lind connected on a two run single which plated Jonathan Lucroy and Khris Davis.
Starling Marte was responsible for batting in the next two runs. With one out in the fifth inning, Marte hit a sacrifice fly which allowed Andrew McCutchen to touch home plate. He then hit his first home run of the season in the eighth inning off Brewers reliever Neal Cotts.
Jared Hughes relieved Locke in the seventh inning and in his second outing duplicated his opening game feat of pitching more than one inning. Hughes also got the first out of the eighth inning and finished with a line of two hits allowed and two strikeouts. Hughes threw 19 pitches, 15 of which were strikes.
Hughes was removed when Davis doubles to right field on a 2-1 count. Trying to play the match ups, manager Clint Hurdle elected to go for a left-on-left match up as Antonio Bastardo was asked to retire the left-handed hitting Lind. Bastardo however walked Lind on a full count. Hurdle again went to the bullpen and Arquimedes Caminero retired the next two batters on a force play and strikeout respectively. Caminero was clocked on the Miller Park radar gun at 99, 100 and 101 on multiple occasions for each velocity.
In the ninth inning Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett was ejected and two-time MLB All-Star Carlos Gomez was forced to play second base because of previous substitutions.
Closer Mark Melancon pitched the final inning and retired the side in order striking out Lucroy to end the game.
These two teams will meet again Saturday when Vance Worley takes on Jimmy Nelson with both making their season debuts. The first pitch is expected at 7:10 p.m.
