Michael Brantley

Pirates edge Indians 1-0 behind Jeff Locke

Published Jul. 4, 2015 6:45 p.m. ET

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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jeff Locke pitched eight innings of two-hit ball, retiring his last 19 batters, and Neil Walker had an RBI single to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cleveland Indians 1-0 on Saturday.

Locke (5-4) allowed only second-inning singles by Yan Gomes and Giovanny Urshela as the Pirates ended Cleveland's five-game winning streak. The left-hander struck six, walked none and faced one batter more than the minimum in a game that took just 2 hours, 6 minutes.

Pittsburgh scored in the sixth against tough-luck loser Cody Anderson (1-1). Josh Harrison hit a leadoff double off the top of the center-field fence and came around on Walker's single.

With two on in the ninth, Mark Melancon got Michael Brantley on a game-ending grounder for his 26th save. Jason Kipnis walked with two outs and Francisco Lindor had an infield single.

Cleveland never got a runner past first base against Locke. Pittsburgh turned double plays in each of the first two innings and went on to win for the 10th time in 15 games.

Locke, who hit Kipnis with a pitch in the first, has given up two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts.

Harrison had two of the Pirates' six hits.

Anderson pitched eight innings in his third major league start, and his ERA rose slightly to 0.76 from 0.57. He had no walks and four strikeouts in a complete game.

Pittsburgh got runners to third base in the first and third but failed to score. Starling Marte lined out to end the first, and Harrison grounded out in the third.

STREAKING

Indians: Urshela extended his hitting streak to 13 games. . Kipnis has reached base in 27 of his last 29 games.

Pirates: Walker's RBI single ran his hitting streak to seven games.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Indians: OF Ryan Raburn usually starts against left-handers but did not play because of illness. . RHP Josh Tomlin, who underwent right shoulder surgery in April, is likely to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. . 1B-OF Nick Swisher (left knee inflammation) hopes to go on a rehab assignment soon after the All-Star break.

UP NEXT

Major league wins leader Gerrit Cole (11-3, 2.20 ERA) starts for the Pirates on Sunday against RHP Danny Salazar (7-3, 3.80) in the series finale. Cole is 6-1 with a 2.01 ERA in his last eight starts. Salazar took a perfect game into the sixth inning Tuesday when he won at Tampa Bay.

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