Pirates
Pirates Squander Another Strong Start; Offense, Bullpen Let Down Keller
PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller gave the Pittsburgh Pirates 6.0-strong innings, but the bats and bullpen let him down in a 7-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Monday night.
How We Got There
The Reds (25-24) scored with two outs in the top of the first inning when Austin Hays plated the speedy Elly De La Cruz with a double to left field.
The Pirates (15-33) quickly evened the score on Joey Bart’s RBI double off the center field wall with two outs in the bottom of the first.
The score remained 1-1 until the top of the sixth. Austin Hays was credited with an infield single with two outs and advanced to second on a throwing error from shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Hays scored on Gavin Lux’s double to left, where Tommy Pham was unable to come up with a sliding grab.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-6) was done after throwing 6.0-strong innings with only one earned run against him and 91 pitches.
The Reds scored two more runs against David Bednar in the top of the eighth and three runs off Colin Holderman in the ninth to put them ahead 7-1.
Key Moment
Defensive lapses cost the Pirates in the sixth in what turned out to be the game’s winning run. Kiner-Falefa’s throw after fielding a ball far to his left was way off the mark. Though Lux was credited with an RBI double, Pham should’ve caught the ball in left.
Gavin Lux has the highest AVG (.298) and OPS (.801) among qualified Reds hitters.
pic.twitter.com/23btaxHGSZ— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 20, 2025
Star of the Game
In what seems like a guarantee over the last month or so of the season, the star of the game goes to whatever starting pitcher is facing the Pirates. In this one, it was Nick Lodolo (4-4), who held the Pirates to one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, two runs (one earned), one walk, five strikeouts, 91 pitches/59 strikes
- David Bednar: 0.2 innings, three hits, two runs, no walks, two strikeouts, 25 pitches/17 strikes
- Colin Holderman: 1.1 innings, three hits, three runs, two walks, one strikeout, 29 pitches/17 strikes
- Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 3, one walk
- Joey Bart: 1 for 4, one double, one RBI
Stat to Know
Mitch Keller has a 3.17 ERA over his last eight starts. The Pirates are 1-7 in those games and have lost seven games he’s started in a row.
Noteworthy
- The Pirates have now gone 24-straight games without scoring at least five runs.
- Mitch Keller passed Gerrit Cole for the third-most strikeouts in PNC Park history with 357. Paul Maholm (383) leads the way
- Monday’s game marked the first for Gene Lemont since he was added to the coaching staff over the weekend. Lamont was a coach for the Pirates from 1986-91 and again in 1996 before he was served as the team’s manager from 1997-2000.
- INF Michael Helman, who was DFA’d by the Pirates on Friday, was claimed off waivers by the Rangers.
Up Next
LHP Bailey Falter (2-3, 4.02 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates in the second game of the series on Tuesday night. RHP Nick Martinez (2-4, 3.66 ERA) will start for the Reds. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
