In year of challenges, Keller flashes reminder of his potential

ST. LOUIS -- There were several points Friday where the inning and game could have gotten away from Mitch Keller. Usually in those situations this year, that big hit has come.

On Friday, they did not. Keller worked through his jams, leaned on his fastball and pitched five scoreless frames to set the Pirates up for a 4-0 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

It was the best start for the 25-year-old right-hander since being recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis at the start of the month.

"It feels amazing, honestly, after everything I've been through this year working back,” Keller said. “I felt really good in my last two starts. Actually, my last three, I felt really good. The results weren't there, and I think I just came full circle tonight. Just attacked the zone and got hitters out."

Those previous three starts resulted in 10 runs on 24 hits over 14 1/3 innings. Unlike other starts where he got hit hard earlier this season, he was able to work through tough innings better, usually being able to complete the frames rather than be pulled halfway through. 

Other issues, like walks, had been cut down, and Keller in general appeared to be in better spirits. In his last start before being demoted, he said “I'm probably the most pissed-off guy in this locker room.” Those frustrations appear to have been left back in Indianapolis.

And on Friday, he performed with the pitch they emphasized down in AAA: The fastball.

“He really got it done with the fastball,” Jacob Stallings told AT&T SportsNet after the game. “I thought Mitch was outstanding.”

“He moved it around,” Derek Shelton said about his heater. “It was not in the middle of the plate consistently.”

Keller threw his fastball 63% of the time Friday night. Part of the reason was that the Cardinals could barely catch up to it. He got a career-high 10 whiffs and 11 called strikes, the latter being tied for his second-most in a single game. All six strikeouts were with his fastball.

Almost all of those whiffs were up in the zone:

Shelton has emphasized fastball control and execution with Keller since his return. When he can do that up in the zone, it usually gets its best results.

“I just came in with a mentality today of, ‘how can I attack the zone the best I can,’ and I think Stalls and I did that with a pretty good game plan," Keller said.

Normally those high fastballs would tunnel with his curveball, but he was primarily a two pitch pitcher Friday. On the night, 56 of his 89 pitches were fastballs (63%). His next most used pitch, by far, was the slider, throwing it 26 times, or 29%. He threw just six curveballs and one changeup.

When he did throw it, it played off the fastball better and, more importantly, kept it down in the zone.

“I think over the past three or four games where my results weren't there, it was just one or two pitches that were really hurting me,” Keller said. “A hanging slider or a hanging curveball where they get a base hit and score two runs. Tonight is just, how do I minimize damage, and that's either a strike on the corner of the plate or it's a ball, and I can live for another pitch."

In the second inning, after a slow roller got through the infield for a base hit that put runners on the corners, Keller got out of a bases loaded jam by getting his mound opponent, Miles Mikolas, to pop out to first base. In the fifth inning, with two runners on, he retired Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to hit a soft line out and lift a lazy fly ball to left to end the inning.

With that performance in the clutch, Keller snapped a five-game losing streak and got the Pirates back into the win column for just the third time this month.

And perhaps more importantly, he showed off his potential for what he could bring to the Pirates' rotation for years to come.

“We talk about moving forward,” Shelton said. “These are the kind of victories we have to isolate and talk about.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Harrison Bader made two diving catches in the first three innings that helped keep the Pirates off the board, but the Cardinals' gold glove caliber center fielder flubbed a routine play for the Pirates' big hit of the night in the fourth inning.

With Colin Moran on first base, Stallings dropped a single into center that Bader whiffed on, allowing it to roll well past him.

So it was off to the races with the Pirates' two slowest runners:

"I think that broke the Statcast metrics because we had the two slowest human beings on the planet running around the bases," Shelton joked afterwards.

Moran was still able to score and Stallings slid into third base with a little league triple. Gregory Polanco brought him home on a sacrifice fly, and then added another in the sixth inning.

• The night's other run came off the bat of Yoshi Tsutsugo, homering for the first time with the Pirates and this season, turning on a hanging Daniel Ponce De Leon changeup and putting it in the Cardinals' bullpen in right-center:

 "To come in in that spot right there and extend the lead, that’s important when you’re coming into a new club," Shelton said.

“It really makes me want to keep going, keep working for the rest of the season," Tsutsugo said.

• Keller turned the ball over to Duane Underwood Jr. for 1 2/3 innings, getting an assist from David Bednar to strand a pair in the seventh before tossing a quiet eighth. Chris Stratton wrapped up the ninth.

"When everyone is clicking like that, wins like this come," Keller said.

• There could be a new reliever in town, at least for the short-term. The Pirates activated Chad Kuhl off the COVID-19 injured list Friday, and he will be used as a reliever. There's no timetable if that's just for now or the rest of the season.

While Kuhl had been pitching better of late, the Pirates didn't specify if the change is because they want to get a look at him in this new role or if it is just to build him back up after being away from the team.

“It could be both,” Kuhl said pregame on the field at Busch Stadium. “We haven’t really had those conversations.”

Kuhl had thrown a sim inning twice and one bullpen since returning to the team this week in Los Angeles for the Dodgers series. During his time on the injured list, he and a vaccinated former minor-league teammate, John Kuchno, played catch to help keep him loose.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ben Gamel, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Jacob Stallings, C
6. Gregory Polanco, RF
7. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
8. Hoy Park, SS
9. Mitch Keller, RHP

And for Mike Schildt's Cardinals:

1. Tommy Edman, 2B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Nolan Arenado, 3B
4. Tyler O'Neill, LF
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Lars Nootbaar, RF
7. Paul DeJong, SS
8. Harrison Bader, CF
9. Miles Mikolas, RHP

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will try to make it two in a row for the first time in August Saturday. Dillon Peters (0-1, 1.93) will make his second start with his new club against J.A. Happ (7-6, 6.03) at 7:15 p.m. I've got you covered.

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