While I sit here, watching the sun sink beneath the waves in the Gulf--reminded of something else that's sinking beneath the waves--all the Pirates' affiliates except the DSL teams were in action.
-P- Jeff Locke continued his outstanding work as Indianapolis topped Louisville, 4-2. Locke threw six shutout innings, allowing four hits and one walk, and striking out six. In his last 26.1 IP, he's allowed two runs on 15 hits and seven walks, with 25 Ks. Since the beginning of July, his ERA is 1.68. Unfortunately for him, the Pirates' pitching has been outstanding from top to bottom recently, so there's no way he can help the team. Bryan Morris and Dan McCutchen each contributed a scoreless inning after Locke left. Brock Holt went 3-4 to raise his average to .400 until he can decide where to go from there. Dallas McPherson went 2-4 with his 14th HR. Anderson Hernandez went 3-3.
-P- Altoona lost to Richmond, 2-1. Brandon Cumpton allowed just two runs over six innings, but took the loss. Nate Baker and Jeff Inman combined to fan seven over the last three innings. The Curve had only three hits.
-P- Bradenton lost to Jupiter, 6-2. Kenn Kasparek allowed two runs over six innings, but reliever Emmanuel de Leon gave up three runs in one inning in his first high A outing. Three players accounted for all of the Marauders' seven hits. Mel Rojas, Jr., went 3-4 with two doubles, Kirk Singer went 2-3 with one double, and Gift Ngoepe went 2-4.
-P- West Virginia got shut out by Hickory, 6-0. Nick Kingham pitched well, but errors by Alen Hanson (one of two for him) and Chris Lashment in the 5th resulted in three runs scoring on just one hit. Kingham gave up four runs overall, one earned, in five innings. He allowed four hits and a walk, and fanned six. The Power had just four singles.
-P- State College got a good start from Luis Heredia, but the Spikes also got shut out, 1-0, by Jamestown. Heredia gave up the one run in five innings on three hits. He walked none and fanned four. D.J. Crumlich had two of the Spikes' three singles.
-P- The GCL Pirates lost a close one to the Yankees, 3-2. Starter Tyler Glasnow, coming off two straight four-inning, no-hit outings, had a control meltdown in the first and recorded only two outs, one via strikeout. He allowed no hits but walked four and was charged with one run. The Bucs had only five hits. Eric Wood went 2-4 with a double and Dilson Herrera 1-3 with a triple and a walk.