Mitch Keller dominant while striking out 13 in Pirates victory
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No one needed to tell Austin Hedges about Mitch Keller’s dominance Sunday in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-0 victory against the Baltimore Orioles.
Nonetheless, when Orioles players walked to the plate, holding bats that turned out to be useless in most cases, they kept marveling at what the Pirates’ ace pitcher was crafting during a seven-inning outing at Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
“They were saying how good he is,” said Hedges on AT&T SportsNet after the Pirates’ catcher helped Keller devise the game plan that ended the Pirates’ four-game losing streak. “These guys faced him in the minor leagues. That’s a different guy (this season).
“What he’s done so far this year is what a bona fide ace does. That’s who we have on the mound every five days.”
Keller, who threw a complete-game shutout against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, now has stopped seven- and four-game losing streaks. The Pirates have won only twice in the past 13 games, and Keller has been responsible for both.
How much can Keller improve over the remaining 41⁄2 months of the season? Hedges’ optimism knows no bounds.
“He can win the Cy Young. No doubt about it,” Hedges said.
That’s an ambitious goal, but Keller has, at least, lifted himself among the National League’s best pitchers through the first six-plus weeks of the season.
After striking out a career-high 13 batters while recording 21 outs and walking no one, Keller is third in the NL with 69 whiffs, sixth in ERA (2.38) and seventh in WHIP (1.02). Basically, for the season, he has allowed an average of one runner per inning over 56 2⁄3.
The Orioles, who lead the American League with 156 walks, couldn’t coax one from Keller. He did hit a batter, but the Orioles (26-14) managed only four harmless singles against him.
To put Keller’s effort in historical perspective, he became only the third Pirates pitcher all-time to strike out 13 with no walks, joining Jose DeLeon (1985) and Francisco Liriano (2016).
But those two did not hold their opponents scoreless in those games. Keller hasn’t allowed a run since May 3, a string of 16 consecutive innings.
Relief pitchers Colin Holderman and David Bednar joined the fun, each striking out two batters in the eighth and ninth innings without a walk. That’s 17 strikeouts among the required 27 outs (63%). Of the remaining 10 outs, only four left the infield.
Keller threw 93 pitches, 70 for strikes, and he used his fastball for six strikeouts, his sinker for four. He needed only three pitches for five of those strikeouts.
In his past five outings (33 innings), Keller has struck out 44 batters while giving up only 22 hits and four walks.
What’s the root of Keller’s efforts after struggling to find consistency and posting ERAs of 7.13 and 6.17 in 2019 and 2021?
“It’s the same thing he did the past outing,” Hedges said. “He had all his pitches: four seam, two-seam, slider, curveball, changeup. He’s just executing it.
“That’s the name of the game. His stuff is always there. When he executes his pitches, it’s really super tough to hit him.”
Keller, the Pirates’ second-round draft choice in 2014, credited the gameplan.
“Filling up the zone, trying to throw as many strikes as possible,” he said, “just trying to have us be on the offensive. When we’re in good counts, good things happen.
“I have the utmost confidence that I’m going to throw a strike or execute the pitch where I want to. That’s a really good feeling out there.”
Shelton was impressed because Keller handcuffed what he called “a really good Oriole lineup.” The Orioles came into the game with the second-best record in MLB.
“The fact that he was able to execute on both sides of the plate really stood out,” Shelton said.
Asked which he prefers — the 17 strikeouts or no walks — Shelton chose the latter.
“That’s the biggest thing because we’re not putting ourselves in a position where a ball that falls in turns into (runners on) second and third.”
Partially lost in Keller’s mastery was the Pirates scoring more than three runs in a game for the first time since April 29.
Shelton mixed up the lineup, shifting designated hitter Andrew McCutchen to the leadoff spot for the first time as a Pirates player since 2011. Ke’Bryan Hayes, who had led off in the 25 previous games, dropped to fifth in the order.
The Pirates had seven hits, all singles, and McCutchen had the first and, eventually, scored in the first inning. In the third, the Pirates’ three-run barrage started when Bryan Reynolds struck out but he reached base on a wild pitch. Hayes and Ji Hwan Bae followed with RBI singles.