Published: Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 2:29 p.m. MST

Gotta run!.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for the 2013 season. The 36-year-old hit .230 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs last season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Not much else going on in the MLB planet today.

PITTSBURGH (AP)—The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas(notes)
have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for
the 2013 season. The 36-year-old hit .230 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs last
season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates are in need of catching help after declining the options on
veterans Chris Snyder(notes) and Ryan Doumit(notes).

“”They were aggressive,” Barajas said. “They gave me the feeling they
really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four
months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a
good situation to be in.”

Barajas is one of the top power-hitting catchers in the game. His 50 homers
over the last two years are third-most by a major league catcher over that span.

“He has the combination of attributes we’re looking for, an experienced
catcher with the willingness to help improve a young pitching staff and he also
adds some power to the lineup,” Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington
said.

Barajas, a career .238 hitter, has 125 home runs and 449 RBIs in 1,010
career games with Arizona, Texas, Toronto, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and
the Dodgers.

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PITTSBURGH (AP)

The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

There is the quick update of the day.

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Oct. 13
	   1903 -- The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
	   1914 -- The Boston Braves completed the first sweep in World Series history with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
	   1921 -- Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.
	   1960 -- Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.
	   1971 -- The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.
	   1978 -- New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the third game of the World Series. Nettles made four spectacular stops and gave the Yankees the first victory of the series.
	   1984 -- Alan Trammell's two home runs backed Jack Morris' second complete game to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-2 victory and a 3-1 lead over the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
	   1993 -- Tommy Greene of Philadelphia outpitched Greg Maddux and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 to win the National League pennant in six games.
	   1996 -- Powered by a three-homer third inning and eight strong innings from Andy Pettitte(notes), New York won its 34th American League pennant with a 6-4 victory over Baltimore. The Yankees took the ALCS 4-1 and went to the World Series for the first time since 1981.
	   1998 -- The New York Yankees advanced to the World Series for a record 35th time after beating the Cleveland Indians 9-5 to win the AL championship series in six games.
	   2002 -- Adam Kennedy(notes) hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning and the Angels erupted for a 13-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the AL championship series in five games and advance to the World Series for the first time in their 42-year history.
	   2007 -- Manny Ramirez(notes) hit his 23rd postseason homer in Boston's 13-6 11-inning loss to Cleveland. The two-run drive broke the playoff record he had shared with former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams.
	   Today's birthdays: Taylor Buchholz(notes) 30; Trevor Hoffman(notes) 44.

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(Sports Network) – Lefty Travis Wood can continue a recent string of scoreless
outings tonight when the Cincinnati Reds visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the
middle contest of three weekend games at PNC Park.

A 24-year-old, Wood had appeared in five consecutive games — four relief
outings and one start — since last allowing a run during a 5-3 loss to the
New York Yankees on June 20 in Cincinnati.

He’s 1-0 in his outings since, picking up the win after two-thirds of an
inning of relief against the Pirates during Cincinnati’s 11-8 victory in
Pittsburgh on Aug. 19.

Overall, he’s pitched 10 consecutive shutout innings while allowing five hits
and striking out nine batters.

He’s 2-1 lifetime against the Pirates with a 4.91 earned run average in 11
innings.

In Friday’s opener, pinch-hitter Ryan Ludwick posted the game-winning hit in
the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Pirates to a 4-3 win.

Pinch-hitter Jason Jaramillo ripped a double to left with one out off Reds
reliever Bill Bray (5-3) before Ludwick came through with the walk-off single
to center against Nick Masset, allowing pinch-runner Chase d’Arnaud to easily
score from second.

Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer and Andrew McCutchen finished with two hits
and a run scored for the Pirates, who bounced back after a 2-5 road trip.

Joel Hanrahan (1-4) earned the win despite plunking Todd Frazier to force in
the tying run in the top half of the frame.

“I didn’t have all my good stuff, but I tried to find a way to make it work,”
Hanrahan said. “I think I hit my first guy of the year. This game’s funny.”

Joey Votto picked up an RBI double, while Frazier and Paul Janish had two hits
apiece for the Reds, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

The Pirates start 26-year-old righty Brad Lincoln, who appears for the second
time in his career against the Reds.

Lincoln took a no-decision in the initial outing, tossing two-thirds of an
inning in relief in the aforementioned 11-8 game in which Wood got the
victory.

He’s made six starts since and is 1-3 while allowing 17 runs in 31 innings.

Lincoln is 0-2 in seven home appearances this season.

Pittsburgh is 9-4 versus the Reds this season.

The Sports Network

Gotta run!.

It’s been seven years since Pittsburgh won as many as 70 games
in a season. The Pirates waited that long; what was one more
half-inning?

Ryan Ludwick’s single in the bottom of the ninth drove in the
winning run and the Pirates came back from a blown save in the top
of the inning for a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday
night.

Ludwick’s fly ball to deep center field fell for a single and
scored pinch-runner Chase d’Arnaud from second after pinch-hitter
Jason Jaramillo had doubled to left with one out.

“It felt like it was what I was supposed to do,” said Ludwick, a
trade-deadline acquisition who was hitting .231 in 34 games with
the Pirates. “It’s been a while since I hit a walk-off, but it felt
good.”

Garrett Jones homered for the first time in more than a month
for Pittsburgh (70-87), which reached 70 wins for the first time
since 2004.

The Pirates had been a strike away from that elusive 70th
victory, but closer Joel Hanrahan hit Todd Frazier in the hand with
a 98 mph fastball, the eighth pitch of a dramatic at-bat with the
bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth.

The blown save was Hanrahan’s fourth in 43 opportunities.

“It was one of those days I didn’t have my good stuff, so you
try to find a way to make it work,” Hanrahan said. “It’s a full
count there, and I think I hit my first guy of the year there.
Baseball’s a funny game.”

Paul Janish had two hits and an RBI and Joey Votto had his 99th
RBI for the Reds.

Ryan Doumit had two hits and an RBI and Andrew McCutchen added
two hits for Pittsburgh, which won for the second in its past seven
games overall and second time in its past seven home games.

Pirates starter Jeff Locke was on a pitch limit and was lifted
after 4 2-3 innings when his 80th pitch became an RBI double by
Votto.

That left two men on, but Daniel Moskos got Jay Bruce to strike
out swinging to end the inning.

“We hit that young man over there pretty hard,” Reds manager
Dusty Baker said about Locke. “We flirted with the fence probably
five or six times.

“We had plenty of opportunities, but we didn’t get the hit when
we needed it.”

Making his third career start, Locke was charged with one run,
six hits and two walks. He lasted only three innings in his most
recent start.

“It’s a process,” the 23-year-old said. “I’m definitely taking
the mound now, the nerves are gone, the composure’s there. I’m
still leaving some pitches up and falling behind some hitters.”

Janish had an RBI single off Chris Leroux in the sixth, but
Chris Resop, Tony Watson and Jason Grilli combined for two
scoreless innings.

Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey started Cincinnati’s ninth with an
infield single and Brandon Phillips followed with a single. After a
fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Phillips and Drew Stubbs pulled
off a double steal. Bruce was intentionally walked and Frazier was
hit by the pitch.

“They didn’t really hit the ball too hard that inning,” Jones
said. “They had some freak things happen, but we were able to help
Joel out. Ryan came up with the big hit.”

Jones homered for the first time since Aug. 21 after Doumit led
off the second with an infield single. Jones’ homer to right-center
off Edinson Volquez was his 16th and traveled an estimated 458
feet.

Doumit made it 3-0 in the second with a run-scoring single.

Making his third start since being recalled after his second
demotion to the minors this season, Volquez, Cincinnati’s opening
day starter, allowed three runs, six hits and two walks while
striking out five in five innings.

“I felt good. We didn’t win, but that’s part of the game,”
Volquez said. “A lot of things happen during a game, but I was
happy to be back out here and pitch some innings.”

Notes: Barring setbacks, LHP Dontrelle Willis will start for the
Reds on Sunday. He has not pitched since Sept. 12 due to a back
injury. … The announced paid crowd of 23,632 pushed Pittsburgh’s
season total to 1,874,283 _ the fourth-largest in club history. …
The previous time Cincinnati’s Saturday starter RHP Travis Wood
faced Pittsburgh, he had the shortest start of his career, 3 1-3
innings in a 9-3 loss April 18. … RHP Brad Lincoln will make his
final start of the season Saturday for the Pirates after allowing
six runs in 1 2-3 innings in his most recent outing.

That’s all the news for today.

(Sports Network) – Rookie left-hander Jeff Locke makes the third start of his
career tonight when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the visiting Cincinnati Reds
in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.

A second-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2006, Locke was 8-10 in 28
appearances in the minors this season, posting a 3.70 earned run average and
striking out 139 batters in 153 1/3 innings.

He made his initial big-league start at home against Florida on Sept. 10 and
took a 3-0 loss, then returned six days later for a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers in
Los Angeles.

In eight combined big-league innings, Locke has allowed 10 hits and six runs
while walking six and striking out one.

The Reds start 28-year-old Edinson Volquez, who’s lost three consecutive
starts.

The former National League All-Star, who last won on June 29 at Tampa Bay, was
sent to the minors after an 8-1 loss in St. Louis on July 5. He returned for a
4-1 loss at Colorado on Sept. 11 and was tagged for five runs and six hits in
6 2/3 innings of a 10-1 loss to Milwaukee on Sept. 17.

Volquez is 1-0 in six career starts against the Pirates with a 3.44 ERA.

On Wednesday in Cincinnati, Bronson Arroyo tossed his first shutout in over
two years, as the Reds handled the Houston Astros, 2-0, in the rubber match of
a three-game series.

Arroyo (9-12) gave up six hits and recorded his first shutout since August
2009. The right-hander struck out two and did not issue a walk in his first
win this season since Aug. 24.

Miguel Cairo hit a solo homer for the Reds, who finished their 2011 home
schedule with a 42-39 mark. Chris Heisey had an RBI single in the first
inning.

In Phoenix, Miguel Montero went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, as the Arizona
Diamondbacks hung on to defeat the Pirates, 8-,5 in the rubber match of a
three-game set.

Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf (1-3) was chased from the game in the third
frame when he loaded the bases without recording an out. He went two-plus
innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks.

Derrek Lee continued to swing a hot bat for Pittsburgh, going 3-for-4 with a
home run and two RBI.

Pittsburgh is 8-4 versus the Reds this season.

The Sports Network

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PHOENIX (AP)—Becoming NL West champions has been a notion off in the
distance for the Arizona Diamondbacks for weeks, something plausible, yet still
just out of reach.

Now that it’s closer to becoming a reality, the Diamondbacks are ready to
snatch it up.

Aggressive on the basepaths and with their bats, the Diamondbacks jumped on
the Pittsburgh Pirates early in an 8-5 win on Wednesday that cut their magic
number for clinching the division to two.

“You don’t want to beat around the bush too much, just go ahead and get it
done,” said Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley(notes), the biggest beneficiary of
Arizona’s take-it-now approach.

A day after stranding 11 runners in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Diamondbacks
put pressure on the Pirates from the start, setting a team record with four
stolen bases while scoring three runs off Russ Ohlendorf (1-3) in the first
inning.

Miguel Montero(notes) hit a homer for the first his three hits in the inning and
Arizona tacked on five more runs in the third with two-run hits by Aaron Hill(notes)
and Ryan Roberts(notes) to finish with 11 hits.

That was more than enough run support for Miley (4-2) and J.J. Putz(notes) closed
it out with a flourish, striking out the side in the ninth for his 22nd straight
save and 43rd overall.

Now, with 90 wins after a pair of 90-loss seasons, Arizona is on the brink
of closing out the Giants, who played the Dodgers later Wednesday. The
Diamondbacks get a day off on Thursday before opening a three-game series at
home against San Francisco on Friday.

“We can’t celebrate until happens,” said Chris Young, who had two hits and
drove in a run in a five-run third inning. “I’m sure a few guys will be
watching the Giants tonight and tomorrow, but if we can come into the Giants’
series ready and playing good baseball, we should be able to do this.”

Pittsburgh didn’t go quietly despite the big early hole.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle used 15 different position players and six
pitchers, and his team did manage to chip away at the lead in the later innings.
But Pittsburgh, like it has most of the second half of the season, came up just
short, losing for the 10th time in 14 games.

Derrek Lee(notes) homered and drove in two runs, and Ryan Ludwick(notes) added a solo shot
for the Pirates.

“The attitude and the effort has been there all year,” Hurdle said. “They
are playing the game to win, whether it is September 21st all April 21st that
hasn’t changed. The execution has been problematic the last 50 games.”

Arizona lost to Pittsburgh 5-3 Tuesday night, thanks to ineffective hitting
with runners on and several defensive gems by the Pirates, but still moved
closer to its first division title since 2007 with San Francisco’s loss to the
Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks went right at the Pirates in the series finale, pulling off
two double steals in the opening inning. Justin Upton(notes) had a sacrifice fly to
drive in one run and Montero added two more with his 18th homer to right.

Arizona piled it on the third, chasing Ohlendorf after three straight
singles—Young’s drove a run—and a walk. Roberts followed with a two-run
double to the corner in left off Jared Hughes(notes), who then issued a four-pitch walk
to Miley, a .083 hitter. Hill made it 8-1 with a two-run single to left after
fighting off several good pitches.

Ohlendorf allowed seven runs on seven hits in two-plus innings.

“I felt like the ball was coming out of my hand real good and I made good
pitches, and they took good swings,” said Ohlendorf said. “I had a really good
approach and I didn’t make enough good pitches.”

Miley wasn’t particularly sharp, but plenty good enough with the support his
teammates provided.

The left-hander worked through plenty of traffic, giving up Ludwick’s solo
homer in the second inning and an RBI single to Lee in the fourth. Miley was
lifted for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning after allowing two runs on five
hits.

The Diamondbacks had some nice defensive plays to help the effort, including
Hill’s shovel throw from second to get Alex Presley(notes) in the third inning and
first baseman Lyle Overbay’s(notes) over-the-rail grab on Matt Pagnozzi’s(notes) foul pop in
the sixth.

“We’ve just got keep pushing, keep winning ball games and seal the deal,”
Miley said.

Another game or two like this and they will.

NOTES: Montero has an 11-game hitting streak at home. … Arizona gets
Thursday off before starting its series against the Giants. Rookie RHP Josh
Collmenter(notes) will start for the Diamondbacks after allowing three runs in seven
innings of a 3-1 loss to San Diego his last outing. … Pittsburgh heads home to
play Cincinnati with RHP Edinson Volquez(notes) facing Reds LHP Jeff Locke(notes). Volquez
will be making his third start in the majors after losing his first two outings
with a 6.75 ERA.

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Posted: Saturday, September 17, 2011 2:34 am
|


Updated: 4:02 am, Sat Sep 17, 2011.

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There is the quick update of the day.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ross Ohlendorf was recently picked as the smartest player in baseball in a survey of major leaguers by Sports Illustrated.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander didn’t need his Princeton degree to explain the way he pitched Friday night.

“I didn’t pitch well at all,” he said.

Omar Infante and Logan Morrison homered during a nine-run third inning and the Florida Marlins pounded out 22 hits in a 13-4 rout.

Ohlendorf (0-2) had his string of winless starts reach 15 as he was rocked for six runs and 10 hits in two-plus innings. He needed 54 pitches to record six outs.

Ohlendorf has not won since July 2, 2010, against Philadelphia, and is tied with Cincinnati’s Dontrelle Willis for the longest active winless streak. Ohlendorf has been limited to six starts this season because of shoulder problems.

Infante drove in five runs, adding a solo shot in the first, while Morrison had four hits and three RBIs. The Marlins had a club-record 10 hits in the third. Morrison and Bryan Petersen each had two hits in the inning as Florida broke the record of nine, which had been done four times, most recently on Sept. 17, 2001, at Montreal.

Ohlendorf gave up four straight hits to start the third before being lifted.

“Almost all of the hits came off fastballs,” Ohlendorf said. “Stuff-wise, I wasn’t real great but location was the main thing, especially in the third inning. They were just very hittable pitches in terms of being up in the zone and in the middle of the plate, too.”

Ohlendorf has gone 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in four starts since coming off the disabled list Aug. 23, allowing 33 hits in 16 innings. With less than three weeks left in the season, Ohlendorf is running out of time to break his winless streak or find the answers to his problems.

“He’s been working on things since he got here,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “I think some things he’s trying to figure but hasn’t are things that would give him the opportunity to get the ball down in the strike zone with consistency. We’re not getting good locations. Hitters have been too comfortable because Ross is making too many mistakes up in the zone.”

Florida’s 13 runs tied a season high, set July 16 against the Cubs at Chicago. The Marlins beat the Pirates for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings.

“I’m pretty sure this happens every week for the Yankees and the Red Sox, but it doesn’t for us,” Morrison said, alluding to the Marlins being 11th in the NL in runs scored. “It was a lot of fun.”

Infante hit his three-run homer in the third. It bounced off the glove of left fielder Alex Presley, who was on the warning track, and into the bleachers.

“It was a freak thing and I really don’t have an explanation for it,” Presley said. “I should catch it in my mind. It happened. Hopefully not again, though.”

The homer stretched the Marlins’ lead to 9-1.

Petersen, Emilio Bonifacio, Gaby Sanchez, Donnie Murphy, John Buck and winning pitcher Ricky Nolasco (10-10) all finished with two hits for the Marlins.

Pedro Ciriaco had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates. Presley and Ryan Doumit had two hits apiece.

Nolasco’s streak of 22 scoreless innings against the Pirates ended in the second when Doumit doubled and scored on Ciriaco’s single to draw Pittsburgh within 2-1. Florida then countered with its big inning to put the game away.

Florida’s third inning came with a downside, though, as both right fielder Mike Stanton and first baseman Jose Lopez strained right hamstrings while running out hits and were forced to leave the game. Stanton, who has been bothered by hamstring stiffness since spring training, was making his first start since Sept. 3.

Florida took a 2-0 lead against Ohlendorf as Infante hit a solo home run down the left-field line in the first and doubled home Nolasco, who had singled, in the second.

The Marlins’ big third inning was started by Stanton, who singled. Murphy pinch ran, went to third on Morrison’s double and scored on a throwing error by right fielder Ryan Ludwick.

Lopez, Buck, Petersen and Nolasco followed with consecutive singles, with Lopez’s and Nolasco’s driving in runs. Bonifacio then hit a sacrifice fly, Infante hit his defense-aided, three-run blast and Morrison added his his two-run homer.

Florida made it 13-1 in the fifth as Murphy tripled and scored on Morrison’s single before Buck hit a run-scoring single.

Notes: Pittsburgh RHP Jeff Karstens will return to the rotation Tuesday against St. Louis after missing two starts because of shoulder fatigue. … Pirates LHP Jeff Locke will make his major league debut Saturday night when he faces RHP Anibal Sanchez (7-7, 3.83) in the middle game of the three-game series. Locke, 23, was a combined 8-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 28 games with Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis. Though Sanchez has struck out a career-high 173 batters in 171 1-3 innings this season, he has only one win in his last 15 starts. … Five Pittsburgh prospects have joined the club for the weekend but won’t be placed on the active roster: Indianapolis LHP Justin Wilson, 1B Matt Hague and OF Gorkys Hernandez and Altoona RHPs Kyle McPherson and Bryan Morris.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Omar Infante and Logan Morrison both homered during a nine-run third inning and the Florida Marlins pounded out 22 hits in a 13-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Infante drove in five runs, adding a solo shot in the first while Morrison had four hits and three RBIs. The Marlins had a club record 10 hits in the third. Morrison and Bryan Petersen each had two hits in the third as Florida broke the record of nine, which had been done four times, most recently on Sept. 17, 2001 at Montreal.

Infante got an assist on his three-run homer in the third when it bounced off the glove of left fielder Alex Presley, who was on the warning track, and into the left-field bleachers.

Petersen, Emilio Bonifacio, Gaby Sanchez, Donnie Murphy, John Buck and winning pitcher Ricky Nolasco (10-10) all finished with two hits for the Marlins.

Ross Ohlendorf (0-2) had his string of winless starts reach 15 as he was rocked for six runs on 10 hits in two plus innings. He needed 54 pitches to record six outs.

Pedro Ciriaco had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates and Presley and Ryan Doumit also had two hits each.

Nolasco’s streak of 22 scoreless innings against the Pirates ended in the second inning when Doumit doubled and scored on Ciriaco’s single to draw Pittsburgh within 2-1. Florida then countered with its big third to put the game away.

Florida’s third inning did not come without a downside, though, as both right fielder Mike Stanton and first baseman Jose Lopez suffered strained right hamstrings while running out hits and were forced to leave the game. Stanton, who has been bothered by hamstring stiffness since spring training, was making his first start since Sept. 3.

Morrison, the left fielder, was shaken up when he slid into the side wall to catch Garrett Jones’ fly ball in the eighth inning but stayed in the game.

Ohlendorf has not won since July 2, 2010 against Philadelphia and is tied with Cincinnati’s Dontrelle Willis for the longest active winless streak. Ohlendorf has been limited to six starts this season because of shoulder problems.

Florida took a 2-0 lead against Ohlendorf as Infante hit a solo home run down the left-field line in the first and doubled home Nolasco, who had singled, in the second.

The Marlins’ big third inning was started by Stanton, who singled. Murphy pinch ran, went to third on Morrison’s double and scored on a throwing error by right fielder Ryan Ludwick.

Lopez, Buck, Petersen and Nolasco followed with consecutive singles, with Lopez’s and Nolasco’s driving in runs. Bonifacio then hit a sacrifice fly, Infante hit his defense-aided three-run blast and Morrison added his his two-run homer.

Florida made it 13-1 in the fifth as Murphy tripled and scored on Morrison’s single before Buck hit a run-scoring single.

Pittsburgh’s’ Pedro Alvarez tripled and scored on a single by Presley in the fifth, Andrew McCutchen doubled and came home on Derrek Lee’s single in the sixth and Ciriaco hit an RBI triple in the eighth.

Notes: Florida CF Mike Cameron missed his second straight game with tightness in his right hamstring and said he did not anticipate returning to the lineup any time soon. Pittsburgh RHP Jeff Karstens will return to the rotation Tuesday against St. Louis after missing two starts because of shoulder fatigue. Pirates LHP Jeff Locke will make his major-league debut Saturday night when he faces RHP Anibal Sanchez (7-7, 3.83) in the middle game of the three-game series. Locke, 23, was a combined 8-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 28 games with Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis. Though Sanchez has struck out a career-high 173 batters in 171 1-3 innings this season, he has only one win in his last 15 starts. Five Pittsburgh prospects have joined the club for the weekend but won’t be placed on the active roster: Indianapolis LHP Justin Wilson, 1B Matt Hague and OF Gorkys Hernandez and Altoona RHPs Kyle McPherson and Bryan Morris.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.