Thursday, July 31, 2014

Locke v Collmenter, Lineup, No Deals Go Down, Josh...

Jeff Locke (2-2, 3.54) and Josh Collmenter (8-5, 4.03) open the D-Back series tonight.

We'll see what kind of bounce back Locke has today. His command was pretty non-existant in his last outing, an 8-1 thumping at Colorado. But he's been pretty solid, and hopefully he'll be back on the bike tonight. This isn't the ideal club for him to rally against: Locke is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Arizona. But he did OK in his only start against them this year, holding the D-Backs to two runs over eight frames on July 1st.

Josh Collmenter was also beat up in his last start, not making it through the third before being chased by Philadelphia. But Chase Field has been home sweet home for him, as he's 5-2 in 10 starts with a 2.89 ERA. And he likes facing Pittsburgh. In four lifetime starts against the Pirates, his ERA is 1.59.

Arizona is 5-2 in their last seven home games and 5-1 in Collmenter’s last six starts while Pittsburgh has won four of heir last five games in Arizona and is 6-2 in Locke's last eight outings. Pretty interesting game by the numbers...

The lineup: Gregory Polanco RF, Josh Harrison LF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Ike Davis 1B, Russ Martin C, Pedro 3B, Jordy mercer SS and Locke P. Pedro's back...we're guessing Travis Snider is still writing on the blackboard "I will not try to advance from second on a walk" 100 times.

The game starts at 9:40 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.
  • The Pirates first and only market move was to claim RHP Angel Sanchez from the White Sox off waivers. Sanchez, 24, was a big-time Marlins prospect who touched 98 on the gun and sits between 92-95, but hasn't picked up any secondary pitches and is joining his fourth organization of the year. Sanchez replaced RHP Josh Wall on the 40-man roster. There's still the August 31st deadline for waiver deals and the possibility the FO promotes someone from Indy, especially for the bullpen.
  • Josh Harrison is 8-for-17 while homering in each of the last four contests. He has a chance to become the first Pirate to homer in five straight since Jose Castillo did it in May 2006. The last Bucco to go long four games in a row was Pedro Alvarez in June, 2013.
  • Pittsburgh won two of three earlier in the year v Arizona at PNC Park. Watch for Paul Goldschmidt, who went 7-for-11 with two homers and a triple in the set and is 4-for-6 lifetime against Locke.

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