In 2013, Jeff Locke had a rock-solid 3.52 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was named to the All-Star Game. Since then, things haven’t gone as swimmingly for the left-hander.
Locke saw his ERA rise to 3.91 in 2014, then 4.49 in 2015, and 5.44 in 2016. The Pirates designated Locke for assignment in November, and he went on to sign a one-year deal with the Miami Marlins.
Well, Locke entered Monday night’s Marlins game with a 5.52 ERA… and left with an 8.16 ERA. That’s because he gave up ELEVEN earned runs, in 2 2/3 innings to the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was almost thirteen earned runs, as Locke left the game with runners on second and third base with two outs, and Junichi Tazawa gave up a rope that center fielder Christian Yelich had to run down in the gap to end the inning.
So, why was Locke left in to get destroyed like this? Well, it probably reached a point where Marlins manager Don Mattingly figured, “This game is in all likelihood over and it’s not worth wasting our bullpen in Game 1 of a tough road series.”
And being left in the game only because you’ve allowed to let the game get so out of hand that your manager doesn’t want to even bother wasting the bullpen so early has to be a pretty horrible feeling as a pitcher.
Locke actually allowed 11 runs in a start last year as well, but that one was at least at Coors Field where they play arcade baseball.
Remarkably, this is not the first time in Jeff Locke's career that he has given up 11 runs in a start. Happened last year in Colorado, too.
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) July 4, 2017
[Box score: ESPN]
