Mitch Keller struck out seven Tuesday night at PNC Park in the Pirates victory over the Cubs, 9-2, and that seventh punch out was the big one. Not just because it came at the most crucial part of the game, but because it was the perfect example of the strides Keller has made in his rookie season.
Let's set the stage. In the fifth, the Cubs had runners on second and third and one out. At the plate was Willson Contreras, one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. The Pirates were trailing 1-0, so a hit, or even an RBI, could break the game open for the Cubs. Keller needed a strikeout.
He did not get off to a good start, hanging a curveball for a ball. Down 1-0, he went to the slider. Contreras swung and missed for strike one. He went the slider again on the next pitch and once again got a whiff. Now up 1-2, he went to the well one more time, and:
Strike three. He used his slider to get back in the count, get ahead and to put the batter away.
It's safe to say it was in a good spot Tuesday. He threw it 19 times, getting eight whiffs and two called strikes. Both times the Cubs put it in play resulted in fly outs.
The slider is his newest pitch, too. He started throwing it this spring and developed it as the season progressed.
"I feel comfortable using it anytime, especially for put-away," Keller said at his locker after the game. "That's probably one of my biggest ups from the year. I started this year with three pitches and ended this year with four pitches I feel really comfortable with.
"Just being able to use that for a put-away pitch in a high-leverage situation in the big leagues. It's awesome."
During the Pirates road trip to Milwaukee this weekend, I asked Jacob Stallings what the biggest difference was in Keller's slider now compared to when he started throwing it. He answered he was now getting more consistent break with it. In the Contreras at-bat, all three ran out of the strike zone. They looked good enough to swing at but moved too far to get lumber on.
That strikeout was Keller's penultimate batter faced in his rookie season. He finished by getting Ian Happ to pop to left, stranding two runners and keeping the Pirates in the game.
The Pirates have their starters lined up through the final five games of the season, and with a six-man rotation, that means Keller is the first to close the book on his campaign. He is taking away a lot from a season filled with ups and downs, both in terms of performance and transferring from the minor to the majors and vice-versa.
"Just a huge, huge, huge learning experience," Keller said. "Everything about it was a learning experience, from the good outings to the bad ones, to being sent down to being brought back up and everything in between."
And how about that performance to go out on?
"I'll remember this one a little bit more," Keller said. "In the offseason, this is the one we're going to look back at. I wanted to go out with a good one."
He did.
• The nine-game losing streak is over. That matched the Pirates' longest streak of the season, which happened from July 21-29.
• The fifth inning was not the only time Keller needed to work his way out of trouble. He stranded seven runners on the night, starting with striking out Happ to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the first.
"Those are growth moments," Clint Hurdle said after the game. "... I think it settled him. He was able to get aggressive."
Keller finished with one earned run allowed on seven hits and two walks in five innings pitched.
• Keller finished the season with a 7.13 ERA, but a 3.20 FIP. Out of the 180 pitchers who threw at least 40 innings as a starter this year, that FIP is good for the 15th best in baseball. Sure, the sample size was small, he needs to be able to go deeper into games and the ERA was lousy, but that is encouraging for 2020 and beyond.
• The opposition flirted with a no-hitter for the second game in a row, with Kyle Hendricks taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. While Kevin Newman finally got the Pirates into the hit column with a single up the middle, he was picked off to end the sixth. The offense, which had struggled for a week, was not getting started.
And then came the seventh inning.
The first five batters recorded hits, with Kevin Kramer delivering a two-run, bases-loaded double to give the Pirates a 3-1 advantage.
The Pirates would go on to score seven runs that inning.
"It's not how you draw it up, but at the same time, that's baseball," Kramer said of the rally. "Just lucky to capitalize on it. You could see the momentum shift in our favor."
Twelve Pirates came to bat in the inning. Adam Frazier got it started with a double and capped the scoring with an RBI single.
• It finally happened: Erik Gonzalez homered. In the bottom of the eighth, Gonzalez put the exclamation point on the Pirates' offensive explosion by sending a ball 401 feet to center.
That's what a 107.4 mph exit velocity looks like.
• So, Gonzalez has an eight-game hitting streak. To take it one step further, he has hit safely in each of his last 13 starts.
He credited his increase in offense to his increase in playing time, saying he has "been feeling more comfortable in the box" because of the extra reps.
"Hitting is about timing," Gonzalez was saying post-game. "If you play every day, you're going to get your timing."
• Hurdle used his A-team bullpen to keep the Pirates in the game and was rewarded with four innings of one-run ball. Chris Stratton and Francisco Liriano tossed clean innings in the sixth and seventh, while Richard Rodriguez got charged with a run in the eighth. Keone Kela closed the door in the ninth.
• Chicago made five errors, including two that resulted in runs in the seventh. They are pretty banged up, but I cannot remember the last time I saw them play that uninspired at PNC Park. It was certainly not in the Joe Maddon era.
• The Cubs' elimination number fell to one. The Pirates could be the ones to finish them off. I'm sure there won't be any schadenfreude in the comment section.
• Reynolds Watch: It might be time to retire this recurring segment. Bryan Reynolds went 0 for 5 and lowered his batting average to .314. It was a great rookie season, but it does not look like he will get the cherry on top.
Newman went 1 for 5. His average fell to .309.
• Before the game, the Pirates held a moment of silence for Jason Rollison. It was a very classy move that I know he would have been touched by.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Chris Archer (shoulder, out for season)
• Gregory Polanco (shoulder, out for season)
• Josh Bell (groin, likely done for year)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, starting a Journey cover band)
Here’s the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday will be Dario Agrazal's (4-5, 5.08) final start of his rookie campaign. The Cubs will counter with Jon Lester (13-10, 4.51), with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.. Hunter Homistek has got you covered.
THE COVERAGE
All our baseball content, including every installment of Mound Visit by Rollison, can be found on our Pirates page.
