The Pirates have placed setup man Jason Grilli on the bereavement list, and they have recalled lefty pitcher Jeff Locke to take his place. Grilli’s grandfather-in-law passed away.
Locke had been scheduled to pitch Sunday in Indianapolis, so the idea here, presumably, is that he’ll be ready to pitch out of the bullpen the next few days. (Kevin Correia is Sunday’s scheduled starter, and I’d initially thought/hoped that Locke would be taking his place in the rotation, but I don’t think the Pirates would make be likely to make a move with long-term implications as a result of a reliever going to the bereavement list.)
Locke had been pitching fairly well in the Indianapolis rotation, with 36 strikeouts and 10 walks and a 3.02 ERA in his first 47.2 innings. He pitched for the Pirates late last summer and struggled mightily with his command.
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