Locke enjoys a solid night by throwing strikes

Though Jeff Locke’s first two starts as a Hillcat have been decent, he’s had one regret — he’s been able to watch the sun set from the dugout.

Not so Friday night at City Stadium, when the young left-hander threw into the sixth inning, helping Lynchburg to a 5-3 victory against Kinston.

“It was nice to still be out there when the lights came on,” Locke said.

Locke hadn’t made it past the fourth inning since a May 24 start against Wilmington, when he was still in Myrtle Beach’s rotation. Since then, Locke changed organizations, thanks to his inclusion in the four-player trade that sent outfielder Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh to Atlanta. He showed progress in his first two Hillcat starts, allowing no more than two runs.

But he fell behind too many batters, threw too many pitches and was forced to leave both games early. Last Sunday in Kinston, he was forced out of the game after the fourth, when he reached the 35-pitch mark in an inning. Once a hurler hits that, per a Pirates’ organizational edict, he must be removed from the game.

“It’s just been a disaster, really, the last eight weeks,” Locke said. “I didn’t think I was getting a lot out of coming out and going four (innings) and throwing 85 pitches. … Part of it was mental, too. I had to go out there and say I could keep the team in the game for more than three or four innings.”

The 6-foot-2 southpaw from Center Conway, N.H., was on target from the start Friday. He navigated through one tricky spot, holding the Indians scoreless after allowing three runs in the third inning, including a two-run homer by Lonnie Chisenhall, the sixth-rated prospect in the Cleveland organization.

Locke wasn’t overpowering. Put simply, he pitched, according to Hillcats pitching coach Wally Whitehurst.

“He mixed his pitches well,” Whitehurst said. “He didn’t have great stuff, but he pitched. He used his fastball well and had a good changeup tonight. He threw quite a few of them. He gave us six strong innings. It’s a progression that’s going to be gradual, especially with all of the new stuff that he’s doing.”

Locke’s final line was encouraging — six innings pitched, 83 pitches, six hits, three strikeouts, and for the first time this season, no walks. The third inning runs were all unearned because of a Jose De Los Santos error. Lynchburg (45-22) has won all three games in which Locke has started.

“I didn’t go up there and throw every pitch as hard as I could, or try to strike everybody out,” Locke said. “I just went up there and said, ‘here, hit it, roll over it, pop it up, whatever.’”

Locke won’t turn 22 until November, so there’s no real rush to move him through the Pirates’ system. Still, Pittsburgh liked him enough to acquire him as part of a major-league trade, so his progression in his first three Lynchburg starts is promising.

“There were a couple of things, that when he came over, he was doing,” Whitehurst said. “He was rushing a little bit. We just had to calm that down. He took it out in the game with him the very first night, and he seems to be getting better.”