Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jeff Locke had one more batter to face: 3-year-old Maverick Mercer, Jordy Mercer’s son, in the clubhouse.
Locke had thrown seven innings of one-run baseball but finally met his match as Maverick got several hits, which he followed with bat flips.
Locke could smile, and the players were able to eat up the scene because the Pirates have now won two in a row after a dreadful, 6-20 stretch that dates back to May 28.
Facing the actual opponents in their road grey uniforms in front of 33,590 fans, Locke (7-5) retired the first 15 batters he faced and limited the damage to five hits.
“It was a good game,” he said. “(Erik) Kratz and I were on the same page, and the defense played unbelievably again behind me. It was a team effort.”
Perhaps the biggest at-bat of the game for Locke occurred in the seventh inning against Scott Van Slyke. Van Slyke had ended Locke’s perfect game bid an inning earlier, hitting the second pitch he saw for a double, then scoring the Dodgers’ only run. In the seventh, Locke worked Van Slyke into a 1-2 count, then got him to strike out on a fastball out of the zone. That led to a fist pump by Locke, a rare sight for the left-handed starter.
“It was uncharacteristic of me, but I was excited,” Locke said. “We talked about it earlier in the game, getting Van Slyke to chase a pitch up above the zone. I think I was so excited because the pitch was executed right where I wanted.”
Coming into this week, Locke had allowed 18 runs in 8.2 innings over two road starts. But he threw 6.2 shutout innings Monday against the San Francisco Giants, and now the seven innings with just one run against the Dodgers, so the dependable version of Jeff Locke may be here once again.
McCutchen sends his love to Adele
Andrew McCutchen looked absolutely foolish in his first at-bat of Saturday night as Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda struck him out on three pitches.
Back in the dugout, McCutchen broke into a smile, realizing how off his timing was. That would not be the case his next two at-bats.
“I learned a good lesson,” McCutchen cracked. “I had to make an adjustment, which basically was get a pitch to hit and hit it.”
The Pirates were still without a hit when McCutchen stepped to the plate with one out and no one on in the fourth inning, as Adele’s “Send My Love” played over the public address system. On a 3-2 count, McCutchen deposited a Maeda curveball well over the left field wall.
“It’s not like I’m sitting there hoping things change,” McCutchen said. “I’m going out there trying to get things done.”
McCutchen was not finished.
Maeda (7-5) had no margin for error when the two faced off one final time in the sixth inning, with men on first and second and nobody out. This time, McCutchen blasted a 3-1 fastball over the left field wall, giving the Pirates a 4-1 advantage and knocking Maeda out of the game.
“Going 0-for-100, that isn’t helping,” McCutchen said of his hitting problems this season. “It’s good to put hits on the board, and not just hits but big hits. It felt good to get a pitch to hit and square it up.”
After the two homers and four RBI, it looks like Adele’s song will stay for McCutchen, who changes his plate music following each homestand.
“If y’all don’t listen to Adele, y’all don’t like Christmas,” he said. “Everybody loves Adele. Good little vibes and good little changeups. You don’t hear many of her songs being upbeat, so I rock with that song…. I’m going to stay with it.”
Of note
The Pirates scored their other two runs when Jordy Mercer hit his fourth home run of the season into the center field bushes. This home run came off former Pirate Joe Blanton, who took out his frustrations on a Gatorade cooler after the inning.
Up next
Next up for the Pirates: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (11-1, 1.57 ERA). The Pirates are expected to start Chad Kuhl (6-2, 2.58 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts). No official corresponding move has been made to place Kuhl on the 40-man roster, but Hurdle said that someone not currently on the roster would start.
Image credit: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
