Mitch Keller delivers a masterful seven-inning gem, silencing bats and spearheading the Pittsburgh Pirates' series win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates needed a good start from Mitch Keller, and the veteran right-hander provided exactly that.
Keller pitched seven strong innings to help the Pirates defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Sunday at PNC Park to take two games in the three-game series.
Keller (2-1) allowed two runs on five hits, struck out five, walked none, and retired 13 batters in a row at one point. The outing came one day after Pittsburgh used six relievers in a 13-inning loss to the Rays.
“Honestly, probably the biggest start of the year with where our bullpen was at,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “For him to be as strong as he was and get the W for the team, it was unbelievable. Just the way he attacked the zone and mixed up pitches, he did a great job.
Keller pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in four starts this year.
Chandler Simpson led off the game with a single for the Rays, but catcher Joey Bart threw the speedy left fielder out trying to steal. Keller then sat down 13 straight hitters until running into trouble in the fifth inning.
The Rays strung together three straight two-out hits, with Hunter Feduccia’s two-run single putting them ahead 2-1. Pittsburgh, though, scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to move back in front for good as Keller finished his outing with two scoreless innings.
“It’s not something that I’m thinking about before the game, I’m just going to try and pitch my game and whatever happens, happens,” Keller said of needing to provide a long start. “I’m glad I could do that for us, and our offense put us in a position where we didn’t have to use any of our back-end bullpen guys.”
Keller’s success came from a combination of mixing his pitches and throwing strikes. It might sound simple, but it was effective, and Keller was much better than in his previous start when the Washington Nationals tagged him for five runs in four innings.
“He was ready to get back out there,” Bart said. “That’s what we expected out of him. I knew he was going to throw the ball well. That’s what he’s been doing all year. It was good to see that he gave us a chance. Luckily, the offense gave him a bit of breathing room. It seemed the more room we gave him, the more he took. Hat’s off to him for doing what he did. It was obviously huge for us to swing this one today.”
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