Locke v Cain To Open Giant Series; Pirate Notes

Jeff Locke (9-4, 2.90) opens the Giant series against Matt Cain (8-8, 4.35). Locke has to find the strike zone and an aggressive streak to attack hitters. Cain has rediscovered his mojo of late, with a 2.25 ERA in his past five starts and going seven innings or more in each after a terrible start to the season, so we have two guys trending in opposite directions tonight.

The game starts at 10:15 and will be aired on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russ Martin C, Garrett Jones RF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Jordy Mercer SS and Jeff Locke P.

Starling Marte is still out, but JT is back. Clint Hurdle opted to go with Garrett/Gaby on the right side, even though Sanchez is hitting just .212 against RHP, and sit Felix Pie.

Giant lineup: Marco Scutaro 2B, Joaquin Arias SS, Brandon Belt 1B, Buster Posey C, Hunter Pence RF, Pablo Sandoval 3B, Brett Pill LF, Gregor Blanco C and Matt Cain P.

Sandoval missed a couple of games with back soreness and is making his return tonight.

• With a win today, Jeff Locke would join Francisco Liriano as the first pair of Pirate southpaws with at least 10 wins since Tom Gorzelanny (14) and Paul Maholm (10) in 2007. Liriano will be back next year, as his 2014 contract vested after he spent 90 DL-free days on the roster.
• Starling Marte has 10 triples and 35 stolen bases this year. The last 10/30+ season by a Buc was from Andy Van Slyke (15/30) in 1988. 
• With 9,799 franchise victories since joining the NL in 1887, the Pirates are one win shy of becoming the sixth MLB team to amass 9,800 all-time wins, along with the Giants, Cubs, Braves, Dodgers and Yankees. (They don't count the Pittsburgh Alleghenys American Association wins, though the AA was considered a major league).
• Scott Miller of CBS Sports has an article on Pedro, patience and trust.
• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs has a breakdown that reinforces the Pirate FO's reluctance to give big money to relievers.
• Jason Grilli threw off a mound today for the first time since being injured.
• Travis Snider has been moved from Altoona, where he was 2-for-6, to Indy to continue his rehab.
• James McDonald's second GCL rehab outing was considerably smoother than his first. He went two hitless, scoreless innings with a K. Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects has a post regarding his arm issues early in the year and his use as a reliever during September.
• The Bucs passed on OF David DeJesus; Tampa Bay put in a claim for him.
• MLB Productions is filming the Pirates during their series against the Giants for a new Fox Sports 1 show "Mission October" that airs this Monday at 7:30 PM.