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Pirates Notebook: Jeff Locke Is Working on a New Breaking Ball

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PITTSBURGH – In response to a question I asked about the effectiveness of his pitches last night, Jeff Locke mentioned that he threw just one breaking ball, the pitch that caught Mike Trout for a strikeout looking to end the first inning.

Clint Hurdle confirmed this morning that Locke has been working on a different, harder breaking pitch, similar to a “slurve,” with average velocity between his fastball (90-92 MPH) and his changeup (81-83 MPH). MLB’s Statcast system identified that pitch last night as a changeup, but it’s velocity (85 MPH), spin rate, and break angle were all noticeably different from those of Locke’s changeup. It was also thrown harder and moved much differently than the knuckle-curveball Locke had used consistently before this season.

“More velocity with spin, hitters start early. [It] looks like a fastball out of [the pitcher’s] hand and the late break can be challenging,” Hurdle said when asked about the utility of using a higher velocity breaking pitch versus a slower one. “There’s probably less room for error on a hard breaking pitch than there is on a soft breaking pitch.”

Hurdle also feels that the slight adjustments to Locke’s delivery have supported some harder velocity with all of his pitches this season. He did not confirm whether this was a change suggested by Locke himself, or by pitching coach Ray Searage, but he did say that given their familiarity and experience with each other, there is an ongoing dialogue from both sides about what adjustments might be necessary.

It was clear that this new breaking ball is very much a work in progress, and given that Locke has worked almost exclusively with just his fastball and changeup this season, I suspect it’s not ready to be fully integrated into his repertoire. Any starting pitcher loves to have at least three effective pitches, so the development a different breaking ball will be something to watch for Locke going forward.

CERVELLI, FREESE STILL OUT OF THE LINEUP

Both Francisco Cervelli and David Freese are again out of the starting lineup, with Chris Stewart getting his third consecutive start behind home plate. It is the first time in Stewart’s Pirate career that he will start in three consecutive games.

Clint Hurdle had no updates from the training staff to offer before today’s game, and thus he would not confirm when we could expect to see Cervelli and Freese return to the lineup.

Against lefty starter Hector Santiago, the Pirates will let Jordy Mercer (137 career wRC+ vs. LHPs) and Josh Harrison (110 wRC+) lead the lineup. Andrew McCutchen and John Jaso have the day off, with Matt Joyce (in RF) and Sean Rodriguez replacing them in the lineup. Starling Marte will play center field.

OTHER NOTES

  • With a 1-2-3 inning yesterday, Mark Melancon has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances, with a 2.52 FIP. However, he has only recorded four strikeouts over his 8.1 innings in that same span.
  • Jung-ho Kang has homered in back-to-back games for the third time in his career. He did the same on July 28-29 and September 8-9 last year.

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