Pirates Beat By Rangers as Mitch Keller Falls to 1-10; Offense Can’t Score for Him

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense has been bad for much of the season, but it’s been particularly dormant when Mitch Keller pitches.

That trend continued on Saturday at PNC Park as the Pirates have now dropped six of their last seven following a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.

How We Got There

For the second game in a row, the Rangers (38-39) took advantage of a Pirates’ outfield miscue. After Ezequiel Duran walked to begin the third, Kyle Higashioka singled to left, but the ball skipped past Adam Frazier which allowed Duran to score from first.

The Pirates (30-48) tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on an Oneil Cruz sac fly, only to give the Rangers the lead right back.

Corey Seager singled home a run off Keller in the top of the sixth, and Marcus Semien put Texas ahead 3-1 with a sac fly to center. Keller (1-10) took yet another loss after allowing three runs (two earned) in 5.2 innings pitched. 

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Henry Davis bounced into a fielder’s choice to bring the Pirates within a run.

The Rangers’ bullpen sat down the Pirates’ final 10 batters in a row.

Key Moment

The Pirates had the bases loaded and one out in the sixth but only pushed across one run. After Henry Davis plated a run via fielder’s choice, Ke’Bryan Hayes had a weak flyout to end the inning. 

Star of the Game

Kumar Rocker improved to 3-4 after holding the Pirates to two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. After posting an 8.87 ERA through his first nine starts of the season, the rookie right-hander has a 1.74 ERA over his last two. 

Stat to Know

Entering play, Mitch Keller received 2.14 runs of support while in the game this season — the fewest among qualified starting pitchers. The Pirates scored one run with him in the game on Saturday. 

Notable Performances

• Mitch Keller 5.2 innings, three hits, three runs (two earned), two walks, five strikeouts, 99 pitches/62 strikes
• Carmen Mlodzinski: 2.1 innings, one hit, no runs, two walks, three strikeouts, 35 pitches/18 strikes

Noteworthy

• Andrew McCutchen passed Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio for 185th place on the all-time hit list with 2,215.
• The Pirates went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
• The Pirates reinstated OF Bryan Reynolds from the paternity list and optioned OF/1B Billy Cook to Triple-A Indianapolis.
• LHP Ryan Borucki (low back inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list. RHP Hunter Stratton was recalled from Indianapolis.

Up Next

The Pirates and Rangers will wrap up their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. LHP Bailey Falter (5-3, 3.49 ERA) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh opposite RHP Jack Leiter (4-4, 4.40 ERA). First pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET.