Pirates Spring Recap: Four Key Pitchers Combine for Six Scoreless

Mitch Keller made his second start of the spring for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at LECOM Park in Bradenton.

The right-hander twirled three-scoreless innings, upping his spring total to five-shutout frames. Keller allowed a pair of hits, walked one and struck out one.

It was just over a year ago when Keller signed a five-year extension with the Pirates. In the first year of that deal, Keller went 11-12 with a 4.25 ERA across 31 starts. The 28-year-old will be counted on to help anchor the starting rotation along with second-year arms Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.

Keller wasn’t the only notable Pirates’ pitcher to toe the rubber on Friday. A trio of relievers in David Bednar, Colin Holderman and Kyle Nicolas combined for three-scoreless innings of relief.

Bednar was the first one out of the pen in relief of Keller and struck out two, walked one and allowed a base hit. He was followed by Holderman who allowed a one-out single but kept the Rays off the board and struck out one.

Nicolas, meanwhile, dealt with some traffic in the eighth inning on a walk and a base hit but was aided by an outfield assist from Ji Hwan Bae.

Notable Pirates’ Performances

• Mitch Keller: 3.0 innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, one strikeout
• David Bednar: 1.0 inning, one hit, no runs, one walk, two strikeouts
• Colin Holderman: 1.0 inning, one hit, no runs, no walk, one strikeout
• Kyle Nicolas: 1.o inning, one hit, no runs, one walk, no strikeouts
• Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 3, one run
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 1 for 3, one double, one RBI
• Nick Gonzales: 1 for 2, one double, one run, one walk

Up next, the Pirates (5-2) will head to Sarasota on Saturday afternoon to face the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 ET.