Perrotto: Unsupported Mitch Keller on Pace for Dubious Distinction

There used to be a saying that it took a good pitcher to lose 20 games.

That seems counterintuitive. However, the thought was that a pitcher had to be major league caliber just for the manager to have faith in keeping sending him to the mound.

Of course, that was back in the day when there were still 20-game losers in the major leagues.

The last pitcher to lose that many games in a season was the Detroit Tigers’ Mike Maroth in 2003. He went 9-21 for a team that finished with a 43-119 record.

Before Maroth, nobody had lost 20 games since 1980 when Brian Kingman went 8-20 for the Oakland Athletics. Kingman didn’t run away from 20 losses. He reveled in it for the 23 years that he held the distinction.

That brings us to Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. He will take a 1-10 record into tonight’s game against the New York Mets in the opener of a three-game series and six-game homestand at PNC Park.

Barely past the midway point of the season – the Pirates have played 82 of a scheduled 162 games – Keller is on pace for 20 losses.

That has been lost in the shuffle this week, with rumors circulating that Keller might be traded to the Chicago Cubs. However, that does not obscure the fact that Keller could become the Pirates’ first 20-game loser since Murry Dickson had a 14-21 record in 1952 for a team that went 42-112.

Dickson had a respectable year, compiling a 3.57 ERA over 34 starts and nine relief appearances. No one else on the pitching staff had more than seven wins, and Dickson’s ERA+ of 111 meant he was 11 percent better than league average.

Likewise, Keller is having a solid season despite his record with a 4.02 ERA through 16 starts. His 104 ERA+ puts him 4 percent above league average, and Keller also has made 11 quality starts, though the Pirates are just 3-8 in those games.

Keller is like most of the Pirates’ pitchers in that he hasn’t received much offensive support. The Pirates are last in the big leagues in runs scored, averaging 3.26 a game.

Wins don’t define starting pitchers in today’s game, where they are expected to pitch five innings, then turn it over to the bullpen. However, Keller isn’t a five-and-dive pitcher. He has pitched into the sixth inning in 14 of his 16 outings.

To his credit, Keller is maintaining a good attitude during a trying season. He refuses to blame his teammates for a lack of offensive support and takes solace in metrics and measurement beyond his won-loss record.

“I’m looking at the other stats like walks, first-pitch strikes, stuff like that,” Keller said. “Tangibles that I can control that I think make up a good starter, like am I throwing strikes? Am I filling (the strike zone) up? When I get to two strikes, is the weak contact there? Are the strikeouts there? And they have been. My review of the game doesn’t change based off my win and loss record.”

It does indeed take a good pitcher to lose 20 games, and Keller is a good pitcher. Still, it would be very unfair for him to have to suffer that indignity.