Jeff Locke v Cody Anderson; Lineup & Notes

Happy Independence Day!

Today's Game - Jeff Locke (4-4, 4.55) tosses the Holiday match against Cody Anderson (1-0, 0.57). Jeff has posted a 2.96 ERA in five starts last month and has gone 2-2 with a 3.04 ERA in nine starts at home, where he's been much more effective than on the road (7.04 ERA). He's never tossed against Cleveland.

Cody was just called up and is making his third start. He's been great so far, allowing one run in 15-⅔ innings. His only question mark is his K rate; the pitch-to-contact guy has struck out just six hitters, although in the AL, with the DH, that number can sometimes be deceiving. Here's a little trivia for ya: Anderson was a 17th round draft pick and attended Feather River College, where he was an outfielder and relief pitcher.

The game starts at 4:05 and will be carried by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. And for a welcome change, word is that the sun may even be around for the first pitch!

Same as last night. Gotta say that so far, questions about Fran's durability have been answered in spades; he catches more day-after-night games than any guy we can remember under Clint.

• Cutch has hit safely in 10 straight games (13-for-35, .371), one game shy of matching Josh for the longest streak by a Pittsburgh player this season. Andrew’s longest career hitting streak is a 13-gamer in 2009. And his next long ball will tie him with Jason Bay for eighth on the all-time Pirate list with 139 dingers
• The Kid has gone 11-for-21 (.524) with seven RBI in his last four games. It's about the time of year he gets rolling; Neil carries a career batting average of .339 during the month of July.
• Pedro has 16 career homers in interleague play, one shy of the club record of 17 held by Brian Giles and Kevin Young.
• The Pirates have won each of their five Saturday home games this season, averaging 6.5 runs per game.
• Not all the pitching news is bad. RHP Clay Holmes, who missed 2014 after TJ surgery, is pitching well in the GCL on his rehab tour, racking up five shutout frames earlier today.