Keller Pitched Well, Alcantara Was Better; Pirates Fall to Marlins in Extras 6-5

David Bednar came in the top of the 10th inning for the Pittsburgh Pirates and instantly gave up a single to Nick Fortes, scoring the automatic runner putting the Miami Marlins ahead 5-4 lead and giving them the lead for good. Miguel Rojas tacked on an insurance run for the Marlins with an RBI single, giving the Marlins a 6-4 lead.

The Pirates lost game three of the series and fell to the Marlins 6-5 in a heartbreaker. A Pirates’ comeback falls short in the bottom of the 10th. The Marlins took the series 2-1 and the season series 4-3.

Mitch Keller had a really good outing Sunday afternoon against the Marlins. Unfortunately for Keller, when you face National League Cy Young Award favorite Sandy Alcantara, you have to be darn near perfect. Although Keller was outstanding, he wasn’t perfect.

Keller threw 74 pitches, 51 for strikes, and struck out seven batters. Keller stuck with his slider/four-seam combination, inducing nine of his 10 swings and misses using that combination (four-seam six, slider three). Keller averaged 95.3 mph and topped out at 97.2 mph.

Keller’s final line read six innings, five hits, three earned runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.

In the bottom of the third, Oneil Cruz blasted a solo home run at 108.7 mph off of a 99.4 mph fastball from Alcantara. That gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Byran De La Cruz crushed a hanging slider off of Keller in the top of the fifth inning to tie it at 1 apiece.

The Pirates head to Chicago to play the Cubs for a two-game stint. JT Brubaker and Bryse Wilson to start for the Pirates on Monday and Tuesday.

Ben Gamel hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the Marlins’ lead to 3-2.

To add salt to the Pirates’ wound, the Marlins tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth, making it a 4-2 lead.

The Pirates came roaring back in the bottom of the ninth with a two-RBI single from Yosi Tsutsugo, making it a 4-4 game.

Cal Mitchell delivered again with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, cutting the Marlins’ lead to 6-5. However, Greg Allen struck out with runners on first and third to end the game.

The Pirates head to Chicago to play the Cubs for a two-game stint. JT Brubaker and Bryse Wilson to start for the Pirates on Monday and Tuesday.