JEFF LOCKE beat the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate to notch his 50th career win in the minors, throwing 7 1/3 scoreless innings at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday night.

The Kennett High of Conway graduate struck out 10 and allowed only three hits while leading Triple-A Indianapolis to a 2-0 triumph in his longest outing of the season.

“It's always great to beat the Yankees. You know how I feel about that,” he said. “It was a good night. I was able to locate some pitches where I wanted and throw my off-speed stuff in any count. I'm not a guy who's going to throw 100 (mph), so that's a big part of what I do.”

Yeah, Locke is ready for the majors. However, until he gets another call from the Pirates, the southpaw continues a never-ending quest of refining every fastball, curve and changeup.

It's all coming together for the 24-year-old. Locke (9-5) is riding a streak of 15 1/3 scoreless innings, which lowered to 2.66 his ERA. Only Phillies prospect Tyler Cloyd (1.93) has a lower ERA among 14 teams in the International League.

“People are asking me, 'Why are you still there?' but it's not about the numbers,” Locke said. “Players stay in Triple-A for lots of reasons. There has to be opportunity. For me, I'm still working on maturity as a pitcher. Two starts ago, I walked seven guys. That's not me. You have to learn to avoid those bumps in the road.”

A second-round pick of the Braves in 2006 — and traded in 2009 — Locke has become a long-term lefty for the Pirates. He's been trained to focus on today and not tomorrow, yet he can't help but watch the National League playoff race.

Pirates starter Erik Bedard (5-12, 4.83 ERA) has lost six of his past seven decisions. Any day now, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, a Milford native, could be replacing Bedard with a hungry Granite Stater. Locke briefly joined the Pirates in May, serving as an extra reliever while Jason Grilli spent three days on the bereavement list. Locke did not pitch. He did make four starts at the end of last season, going 0-3 (6.48 ERA).

“It's exciting what's going on with the Pirates. I want to be one of the guys who makes history or breaks history,” said Locke, referring to the Bucs' string of 19 consecutive losing seasons. “I'm proud of where this organization is right now. There's a lot of positive things. We have a first-place team right here in Indianapolis.”

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FISHER TRACKS: Ex-Fisher Cats All-Star Eric Thames, traded to Seattle last week, homered in his first game as Mariner. Thames went deep against the Blue Jays, his old team, and also made a sliding catch to steal a hit from Anthony Gose. Travis Snider has enjoyed a change of scenery after being traded to playoff-hungry Pittsburgh. Snider combined for three hits in a pair of wins after joining the Pirates.

Another Fisher Cats alumnus, Darin Mastroianni, started in left field at Fenway Park and provided some clutch offense for the Twins Friday night. The Twins rookie singled to drive in the game's first run, and he later doubled and scored the game winner in the 6-5 contest.

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FARM REPORT: Winnisquam of Tilton graduate Jordan Cote will end the season with a perfect record (3-0, 0.98 ERA) for the Gulf Coast League Yankees. The Sanbornton resident pitched five scoreless innings in his most recent start but experienced “a little soreness” following the outing. The Yankees' medical staff examined Cote's throwing shoulder and all tests showed no structural damage. Cote was placed on the minor-league 60-day disabled list.

“It's a little disappointing, but I'm happy they want to be careful and are looking out for our best interest. I'll take a few weeks off, then get ready to have a good (Instructional League) and prepare for the off-season,” Cote said.

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Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com