THE BULLPEN

     We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher! Your Pittsburgh Pirates are back home at the friendly confines of PNC Park as they open a 3-game series tonight with the Cincy Reds. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)The Pirates limped back home from a 3-game sweep in Washington, scoring only 3 runs the entire series. In Mrs. Black-N-Gold's humble opinion, 3 runs is just not enough to win a 3-game set. Hit, Run & Score! 2)The Pirates are 1 and 5 versus Cincy this season. It's time for the Black-N-Gold to beat the Reds black & blue! 3)The Bucs start lefty Jeff Locke, 4-3, 4.74 ERA. The Baseball gods have given the Pirates a gift for this series. Johnny Cueto was supposed to start tonight but Cincy has pushed him back to Friday to give him a rest. The Buccos also manage to avoid closer Aroldis Chapman who is out due to paternity leave. In Cueto's place Cincy will start RH Josh Smith, making his Major League debut. The bad news is that typically, the Pirates can make a kid look like Cy Young in his first big league start. Make the kid work, wait for your pitch. And Locke needs to understand that just because his name rhymes with "Walk" that doesn't mean he has to issue any. Throwfirst pitch strikes and don't give up the free pass, it will bite you in the a$$. Locke and load! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!