PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Last start against the Reds, Pirates starter Mitch Keller ran into trouble in the fourth inning and ended up giving up 6 runs. Sunday, Keller looked at second and third with no outs in the fourth and struck out the next three batters. Small steps for the one-time best pitching prospect in the organization.
“Last start, it was the fourth inning again,” Keller said after giving up two runs in 5 innings with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts in a loss to the Giants. “Same situation and we all knew how the last one went. It was a big moment for me just getting out of that, 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and striking out the side there. It was a huge moment. It felt really good to be on the other end of the fourth inning.”
Manager Derek Shelton not only pleased with the show of some fire after those strikeouts, but putting himself in a position where he could execute those pitches.
“It’s as much establishing the fastball and execution of the fastball,” Shelton said after a 4-1 loss to the Giants. “What we saw in previous outing was, if you don’t execute the fastball it’s very hard to establish it. You can throw it as much as you want. Today I think we saw the ball with different life out of it and different execution.”
Shelton also believes it was the best change-up he’s thrown this year with action and velocity. Shelton also praised Keller’s slider
“We’ve seen in previous starts where he hasn’t executed or when he has, he hasn’t been able to go back to it,” Shelton said. “Today we saw him be able to go back to it.”
Keller believes the change-up really kept the Giants off balance and he didn’t leave it over the heart of the zone, which he’s done a few times this season.
“Trying to keep the hitters in the game and give us a chance to win,” Keller said. “I think I did that.”
For this start, he did. Keeping with his trend of pitching well in every other start. Did he find something sustainable for his next outing? We really won’t find out until this coming weekend.