35-23 35-22
Jeff Locke, LHP
5-1, 2.25 ERA
Locke hasn't allowed a run in 19 1/3 innings and went 2-0 with a 1.78 ERA in May. He pitched 5 1/3 innings against the Tigers on Thursday, allowing seven hits and one walk. Locke is 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA in two career starts against the Braves.
- Expanded Stats
- Career Stats
Mike Minor, LHP
7-2, 2.48 ERA
Minor turned in his sixth straight quality start on Thursday, striking out five and regaining his composure to limit the damage after an error sparked Toronto's three-run sixth. The Braves have won five straight Minor starts.
- Expanded Stats
- Career Stats
Bucs' Locke gets shot at redemption against Braves
Left-hander facing team that traded him after 2006 Draft selection
By Steven Petrella / MLB.com | 6/3/2013 11:45 PM
Jeff Locke is going home.
Well, not literally. But on Tuesday night, he will make his first career start in Atlanta against the team that selected him in the second round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft before dealing him to Pittsburgh in 2009 as part of a deal involving Nate McLouth.
Locke will face off against Mike Minor, who has been stellar this season. He is 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA and has struck out 66 and walked just 14 in 11 starts. Minor will be just the second lefty starter the Pirates have faced in their last 22 games.
Locke, who has made two career home starts against the Braves, has been equally as impressive, however. The Conway, N.H., native hasn't allowed a run in his last 19 1/3 innings. He's 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA.
"It just adds to [my confidence]," Locke said after his last start, when he pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 extra-innings win against the Tigers. "Obviously, things have been rolling pretty well, and another outing where you can really build more confidence against a good hitting team, you've got to be happy."
The Braves, like Detroit, can hit the ball. They roughed up A.J. Burnett on Monday for six runs in five innings, the first time he didn't last at least six since April 22. It was also the first time he surrendered more than three earned runs in a start this year.
Atlanta, which leads the league in home runs, went deep three times off Burnett, all two-run shots.
"It's a tough lineup," Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said, "one through eight."
Pirates: Reid makes big league debut
Ryan Reid made his Major League debut in Monday's series opener after joining the club that afternoon, forcing a groundout with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning. He then pitched a scoreless eighth in a 7-2 loss.
Jared Hughes was also recalled from Indianapolis and Jeanmar Gomez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a forearm strain.
The 28-year-old Reid was 6-1 with a 0.52 ERA for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.
"Being healthy and having a full season last year allowed me to make the adjustments on the mound," Reid said. "Just getting innings and understanding what my strengths were and the development of the two-seam [fastball] to both sides of the plate, and release point and all that stuff, all came through.
• Tuesday will be the Pirates' 15th game in as many days. They'll finish up their 16 games in 16 days stretch on Wednesday before Thursday's off-day.
Braves: McCann reaches milestone
Catcher Brian McCann recorded his 1,000th career hit on Monday night with a broken-bat single to left off Bucs reliever Mike Zagurski in the seventh. McCann went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer.
• Evan Gattis on Monday was named National League Rookie of the Month for May. He also earned the honor in April. Gattis is batting .269 with 12 home runs, fifth-most in the NL entering Monday, along with 32 RBIs. He had six homers and 16 RBIs last month
.
Worth noting
• The Pirates are 15-8 this season against teams over .500.
• Minor has allowed eight runs and 15 hits in 12 career innings against the Pirates.
• The Pirates are 10-6 overall and 6-3 on the road against the NL East teams.
Steven Petrella is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
