Mitch Keller gave the Pirates something they badly needed in the opener of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium: a start that looked like a reset.
The right-hander, who had been in a rough stretch before the All-Star break, held the Yankees scoreless over five innings in Pittsburgh’s 5-3, 10-inning win. He allowed three hits, all singles, walked two and struck out six, while generating 15 whiffs against a lineup loaded with left-handed bats.
That performance mattered because Keller’s first-half numbers had started to tilt the wrong way. Over his last 11 outings, he had posted a 7.03 ERA and given up 11 home runs in 56 1/3 innings, after allowing just two homers over his first 47 innings. His previous start had lasted only three innings, and the break gave him time to dig into both his mechanics and pitch mix.
The biggest adjustment Wednesday was easy to spot: Keller leaned away from the sweeper that had been getting punished, and instead used his four-seam fastball to get ahead before finishing off hitters with his curveball. He recorded four of his six strikeouts with curves, including the first four punchouts of the game before changing gears later in the outing.
“I’m trending in the right direction,” Keller said. “I don’t think I have it all figured out yet but a lot of positives, for sure.”
Pirates manager Don Kelly saw the sharper version of Keller on the mound.
“He looked more aggressive,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He finished pitches.
The breaking ball had bite. He threw strikes.
I thought he looked sharp.”
Keller’s early work set the tone. He retired the side in the first inning, then worked around a one-out single in the second. By the time Bryan Reynolds made a diving catch on Ben Rice in the third, Keller had already piled up nine outs on 36 pitches and induced eight whiffs.
That was the kind of rhythm the Pirates have been missing from him lately. Before Wednesday, left-handed hitters were batting .283 against Keller with an .843 OPS, compared with .207 and .577 for right-handers. He had also allowed five of his 13 homers with two strikes, and with runners in scoring position opponents were hitting .347 against him with a .970 OPS.
The Yankees tried to pressure him in the fourth when Spencer Jones and Cody Bellinger opened the inning with walks, bringing pitching coach Bill Murphy to the mound. Keller didn’t blink. He got Jasson Domínguez to fly out, then struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero, with the latter coming on a sweeper that froze the Yankees second baseman.
“It felt good,” Keller said. “Pitches felt a lot more dialed in. Still a little bit of work to do but definitely overall a lot better.”
He had to navigate another test in the fifth after Austin Wells and Trent Grisham singled back-to-back. With Rice, who has 30 home runs and ranks second in the AL, at the plate, Keller won a seven-pitch battle with a sinker for a called strikeout, then got Jones to fly out to center on a well-placed two-strike fastball.
That kind of response is exactly what the Pirates need from him in the second half. Keller’s outing gave them a strong platform before Carmen Mlodzinski gave up a three-run homer on a misplaced 3-1 cutter, and the bullpen concerns remain real. But as Don Kelly put it, the game starts with the rotation giving Pittsburgh a chance.
“We’re trying to get Mitch back on track,” Kelly said. “We’ve talked about the second half and just getting him going. He gave us five strong innings.”
For one afternoon, Keller looked a lot closer to the pitcher who opened the season 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA over his first eight starts, the starter who pounds the zone and usually keeps trouble from snowballing. He also looked like the veteran of the rotation, the one who signed a five-year, $77 million extension before the 2024 season.
He bent, but he didn’t break.
“He looked great,” Nick Gonzales said. “That’s Mitch Keller.
He’s done that for years, and I’m proud of him for grinding through stuff. He’s always there, every start and every five days.”
In Other News...
Pirates Just Sent A Troubling New Signal On Oneil Cruz
Oneil Cruzs latest injury update is the kind of news the Pirates had to handle carefully, even if it doesnt make the outlook any brighter. Pittsburgh needed another roster move this week, and the club used the opening to bring pitcher Khristian Curtis onto the 40-man roster after his MLB debut against the Guardians, a reminder that the Pirates are juggling short-term pitching needs while waiting on one of their most dynamic players to get right.
Ben Cherington said Cruz is still dealing with symptoms tied to the broken bone in his hand, particularly when swinging and making contact, which is why the team chose to give him more time. For a Pirates lineup that could use Cruzs power and athleticism, the delay matters almost as much as the injury itself, because it leaves his return timeline murky and keeps the club from counting on him anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Make A Doubleheader Move That Could Shape A Long Day
A long day at the ballpark is bringing another arm into the mix, with the Pirates adding right-hander Noah Murdock as their 27th man for Tuesdays doubleheader against the Yankees. Pittsburgh usually carries an extra pitcher for days like this, and Murdock gives the club another option if the bullpen gets stretched across two games.
Murdocks path to this spot has been moving quickly since he was added to the 40-man roster earlier this month and then sent back to Triple-A Indianapolis the same day. For now, the assignment is straightforward enough: be available, cover innings if needed, and give the Pirates a little more flexibility as they try to get through a demanding twin bill. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Just Got A Brutal Doubleheader Surprise From The Yankees
The Pirates are already staring at a tricky Wednesday doubleheader, and the matchup got a little more difficult when the Yankees lined up Max Fried to start the second game. Fried has been on the injured list since mid-May with a bone bruise in his left elbow, and his return gives New York another proven arm as it tries to keep its rotation steady through a busy stretch.
For Pittsburgh, the concern is not just that Fried is back, but that the Yankees can now pair him with Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler in a group that looks deeper than it did a week ago. Fried made one rehab start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before rejoining the staff, and the only real question left is how much the Pirates will have to deal with in his first outing off the injured list. [Read more 🡒]