After showing some tremendous signs of improvement in his previous start, Mitch Keller fell back into the doldrums on Thursday against the Padres.
Keller (1-2) put the Pirates in a deep, early hole from which they could never recover during an 8-3 loss to the Friars at PNC Park. The loss concludes what was actually a successful, 4-3, homestand and series split with a very good team in the Padres.
The 25-year-old Keller was torched out of the gate and never really got any better. His ERA stands at 8.74 after being charged with seven runs on nine hits and three walks. Keller struck out one and lasted just 3 ⅓ innings.
Keller dug the Pirates into a four-run hole before getting out of the first inning. Manny Machado delivered a two-run homer and Jake Cronenworth and Tucupita Marcano added RBI doubles in the opening frame. Eric Hosmer made Keller pay with a two-run single following a two-out double and a pair of walks. The right-hander’s day came to a merciful end on a Cronenworth sacrifice fly in the fourth.
The 2014 second-rounder earned his first win of the season in Saturday's 8-2 victory against the Cubs. He allowed just one run on five hits while striking out seven over five innings in that game.
The Pirates collected five of their seven hits against Padres’ starter Chris Paddack.
Colin Moran has hits in all but three of the Pirates’ 13 games this season. He pitched in a double and a single with a run scored in three at-bats Thursday. Moran has four hits in his past nine at-bats and will bring a .311 season average into this weekend’s road trip.
Anthony Alford snapped the 0-for-19 streak with which he started the season with a pinch-hit single in a two-run fifth inning. He and Adam Frazier scored after Bryan Reynolds' liner was misplayed by Padres left-fielder Jurickson Profar. Frazier doubled in five at-bats Thursday and went 10-for-27 with four doubles and five RBIs on the homestand.
Luis Oviedo bounced back nicely from his previous difficult outing, yielding a run on a pair of walks while recording a strikeout in two hitless innings.
The Pirates hit the road with three game series in Milwaukee, Detroit and Minnesota upcoming.
More coverage from Thursday's game will follow from PNC Park.