Keller's slider sharpens after early spring worry taken in Port Charlotte, Fla. (Pirates)

Mitch Keller. - GETTY

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The Pirates and Rays played to a 2-2 tie on a windy day in Port Charlotte Sunday.

Those cool winds made for less than ideal pitching conditions, but Mitch Keller's fourth spring training start was arguably his best.

"I thought I did really well," Keller said. "Stuff was really crisp today. Everything felt really good coming out.

"Slider felt really good."

That slider had been dragging behind a bit this spring. While his fastball is sitting comfortably in the 93-95 mph range and his curveball is breaking, he has not been as enthusiastic about where his slider was. In his last start on Mar. 2, Keller said he felt the pitch was "still coming along."

In his flat ground session this week, he talked to catcher Jacob Stallings about what he wanted to accomplish in Sunday's start. One was using the fastball up in the zone more. The other was finding more opportunities to throw the changeup, which really didn't happen since he said he only threw one.

And then there was the slider.

"Not really a point of emphasis, but when I did throw them, just making sure that they were really good reps," Keller said.

Keller added that slider last year, and his strikeout and whiff rates spiked as a result. According to Baseball Savant, major-league batters hit .200 against it last season with a 47.8% whiff rate.

While he still has a better feel for the curveball, the slider is an important pitch for his development.

"He not only wanted to throw it for strikes in the right situations, but throw it for chase," Stallings said about their gameplan with the pitch Sunday. "I really can only think of one that he didn't get where he wanted to: The triple.

"Other than that, I thought he executed really well."

Keller felt the same way:

"For a guy like him who is looking to go the other way all the time, it needs to be better," Keller said. "Down somewhere he can't handle it."

That triple and the spiked curveball that plated Diaz were the only blemishes on Keller's afternoon. He allowed one run over 3+ innings, surrendering three hits and a walk while striking out five.

He had five punchouts total over his first three spring starts.

"I thought he was better today," Derek Shelton said. "That was a really positive step forward for him."

Keller will get two or three more starts this spring before the start of the regular season. While nothing is official, it seems safe to pencil him in as part of the major-league rotation.

As for making sure that fourth pitch is ready to go, Stallings isn't too worried.

"I think he's a little more concerned with the slider than I am."

• While Keller only faced one batter in the fourth inning, it was the first time he was asked to get up a fourth time. He was removed after walking his 13th batter faced because he hit his pitch limit.

"You definitely notice it," Keller said about getting ready for another inning. "I was a little tired there.

"It's weird to say I was tired in the fourth," he quipped.

Don't read into that. It's spring training.

"Still getting there," he added. "We're all building up. Just getting that fourth up, that was huge."

Guillermo Heredia continues to look good in center field. He made a couple nice catches earlier this spring, and Sunday he showed off the arm, gunning down Austin Meadows at the plate to end the fifth.

Off the bat, Stallings didn't think Heredia had a chance.

"It was a perfect throw," Stallings said.

"I think that he charged hard, made a strong throw, Stallings made a good tag on it, yeah, that was nice to see," Shelton said. "It's the first chance he's had to make a play at the plate."

• Heredia can play all three outfield positions. Could he be used as a late-inning defensive replacement?

"I think he can," Shelton said. "The fact that he can play all three spots provides us with some flexibility."

• Credit Charlie Tilson for keeping the Pirates out of the loss column, doubling home Jared Oliva in the top of the ninth.

The Pirates went on to load the bases later that inning, but Jason Delay couldn't put them ahead.

• And credit Bryan Reynolds for creating the first run of the day on the base paths. After drawing a walk in the first, he was able to take second on a wild pitch that didn't get too far away from the catcher because he took a good secondary lead.

Colin Moran brought him home on a bloop single, which was the Pirates' only hit of the inning.

"I'm always trying to move up an extra base," Reynolds was telling me. "Set up a run."

• Two more hits for Moran Sunday: The bloop and a swinging bunt. He now has seven hits over his last six games.

• Who threw today:

Mitch Keller: 3+ IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K

Luis Escobar: 1 IP, 1 K

Sam Howard: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K

Nik Turley: 1 IP, 2 K

Yacksel Rios: 1 IP, 2 K

Miguel Del Pozo: 1 IP

Montana DuRapau: 1 IP, 2 K

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