Pirates

Pirates Preview: Mitch Keller Makes 30th Start as Road Trip Heads to Cincinnati

Published

2 weeks ago

September 20, 2024

Pittsburgh Pirates' Mitch Keller delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Pittsburgh Pirates salvaged their four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 3-2 win on Thursday night.

Luis Ortiz turned in a quality start and Nick Gonzales delivered the game-winning run with an RBI-single up the middle in the eighth.

Up next for the Pirates (72-81) on their road trip is the start of a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds (74-80) on Friday night at Great American Ballpark. The Pirates are 7-3 against the Reds this season.

First pitch is set for 6:40 ET and the game will be aired on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Temperatures near 90 degrees with sunshine overhead. Winds SSW at 5-7 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Mitch Keller (11-10, 3.87 ERA)

Keller’s rocky second half of the season continued on Saturday against the Royals, when he allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings and took the loss.

The right-hander is just 1-5 with a 4.72 ERA in 10 starts since the break after posting a 3.46 ERA in 19 starts in the first half.

With two starts left on the season, Keller will need to turn around his fortunes and win both outings in order to tie his career-high win total of 13 from last season.

Keller has faced the Reds twice this season and is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA. He’s pitched against the Reds 16 times in his career, three more times than anyone else, and is 3-4 with a 5.40 ERA.

The Cincinnati Will Send Out RHP Nick Martinez (9-6, 3.37 ERA)

After bouncing around between the bullpen and starting rotation for the majority of the season, each of Martinez’s last nine appearances have come as a starting pitcher.

He’s pitched well since anchoring a full-time rotation spot. In those nine starts, Martinez has gone 4-1 with a 2.92 ERA while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.

Martinez relies on his strong control and inducing soft contact. He’s only walked 18 batters in 128.1 innings and ranks in the 96th-percentile in average exit velocity (86.2 mph).

Martinez has made a pair of appearances against Pittsburgh this season and is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.

Reds Hitters vs. Keller

TJ Friedl: 1 for 17, two RBIs, one walk, two strikeouts
Jonathan India: 7 for 16, two doubles, seven walks, two strikeouts
Tyler Stephenson: 2 for 15, one triple, one RBI, six strikeouts
Jake Fraley: 4 for 14, one walk, two strikeouts
Spencer Steer: 5 for 13, two doubles, one home run, two RBIs, two walks, two strikeouts
Elly De La Cruz: 1 for 9, one double, one walk, three strikeouts
Will Benson: 0 for 9, one walk, six strikeouts
Santiago Espinal: 2 for 6, one strikeout
Amed Rosario: 1 for 3, one RBI, one walk

Pirates Hitters vs. Martinez

Andrew McCutchen: 3 for 8, two strikeouts
Connor Joe: 2 for 8, two doubles, two strikeouts
Rowdy Tellez: 3 for 7, one home run, two RBIs, two walks, three strikeout
Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 5, one home run, two RBIs, one strikeout
Joey Bart: 1 for 5, one double, one RBI, three strikeouts
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 2 for 3, one RBI
Bryan De La Cruz: 0 for 3, one walk, two strikeouts
Oneil Cruz: 2 for 2

Tidbits

Isiah Kiner-Falefa went 2 for 5 with a double in the win and has multiple hits in four of his last five games. He’s batting .450 (9 for 20) over that span.
Nick Gonzales also tripled in addition to his game-winning RBI-single. He extended his on-base streak to 10 games, which matches a career-high.
Keller has posted a 5.66 ERA since the start of August and the Pirates have only won two of his eight starts.