PIRATES

Brandon Lowe is a lot of things. Based on the way he handled Don Kelly's decision to pinch hit for him with the bases loaded, one out and a left-handed pitcher on the mound, Lowe is the ultimate teammate and professional:

"I mean, I thought it was the right move to be truly honest," Lowe said. "Take the personal opinion out of it and look at it with a baseball mind. It was bases loaded, one out, lefty on the mound, lefty in the pen and you go to a guy who sees lefties really well, doesn't strike out against them, tying run on third base. I had no problem with it. I had full confidence that Nick [Yorke] was gonna get the job done. I think if the ball is three feet one way or the other way we're having a completely different discussion about this. You can't really ask too much out of the guy. He comes in, gets himself into a good count, hits the balls on the screws. It just goes right to the second baseman. We're in a result-based game which is an unfortunate part of the game, but the process was right. I stand behind that decision."