BRADENTON, Fla. — After walking Jean Segura in the first inning, Mitch Keller glanced at the scoreboard to see that he was throwing more balls than strikes, a bad sign for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander.
Keller soon showed what kind of damage he can do with increased velocity and a new pitch in his repertoire. Rhys Hoskins broke his bat on a 98.4-mph fastball for a pop-up to second. Then, with a full count, Keller caught J.T. Realmuto looking at a slurve for the final out.
Keller didn’t allow a hit in three scoreless innings as the Pirates tied the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-3, on Thursday in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park that was called because of a rainstorm after five innings.
“I felt in control the whole time,” Keller said. “I looked up at the (scoreboard) and thought, ‘Damn, I’m throwing the same amount of strikes as balls,’ but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like I was attacking hitters. The misses I was having weren’t terrible misses. They were super competitive and around the zone, right where I wanted them, which I also think helped when I fell behind on my other stuff.”
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller on how he responded to throwing more balls than strikes in the first inning against the Phillies. Keller didn’t allow a hit in three scoreless innings. pic.twitter.com/yiAg9tnTLo
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) March 24, 2022
Despite throwing only 23 of his 43 pitches for strikes, Keller recorded two strikeouts and one walk. It was his second consecutive impressive outing this spring training after an up-and-down 2021 season.
“He stayed in attack mode, which is the thing I liked,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “In the first inning, I think he was around the plate, which is important. His misses were not egregious misses. He was attacking the zone. When he’s attacking the zone and we’re seeing the quality of his stuff, I thought it was a really productive outing.”
Pirates manager Derek Shelton liked what he saw from Mitch Keller in his second start of spring training. pic.twitter.com/sQusJzJ1U9
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) March 24, 2022
In his first three seasons, Mitch Keller threw 41 fastballs 97+ MPH
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) March 24, 2022
In his first two games this spring, Mitch Keller has thrown 21 fastballs 97+ MPH
Per Statcast, Keller recorded four of the top five velocities in the game, ranging from 98.3-mph to a 99.8-mph fastball that induced a Mickey Moniak pop fly to left field for the final out of the second inning. After a 1-2-3 third, Keller was done for the day.
“That’s been the main thing for me,” Keller said. “When I throw hard, it’s harder to hit. Anybody will tell you that. Keep maintaining the velocity there, and it makes all my other stuff play a lot better.”
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead against Phillies starter Aaron Nola after a pair of solo home runs, a 412-foot bomb to right by Yoshi Tsutsugo to lead off the second and a 411-foot shot by Greg Allen to start the third.
Where the Phillies found Keller unhittable, Roansy Contreras didn’t fare as well in the fourth. Segura drew another walk, setting the stage for Hoskins to hit a two-run homer to center that tied it at 2-2.
Allen’s RBI single scored Kevin Newman to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead before Contreras surrendered another homer, this one to Moniak in the fifth that knotted the score at 3-3.
Allen, who started in left field before shifting to center, was excited to be playing behind Keller.
“It was fun to watch. I would much rather prefer being on defense watching him than having to face him,” said Allen, who has faced Keller in Triple-A and in live batting practice. “He was an elite arm, and he’s an elite arm now, and there’s reasons for that. Watching him go out and do what he did today, it was definitely indicative of what he’s capable of. I also think we’re going to see a lot of that from him this year.”
Bryse Wilson is scheduled to start against Dylan Bundy when the Pirates play host to the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. Friday at LECOM Park.
