Pirates Win Sixth Straight in Sweep of Cardinals; Keller’s Turn in Third Straight Shutout

PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller tossed seven-shutout innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.

The Pirates (38-50) haven’t allowed a run over their last 31 innings and have won a season-high six games after completing the sweep of the Cardinals (47-41).

How We Got There

Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the second with a double down the left field line. After Cruz stole third base, Tommy Pham ripped an RBI single to left to put the Pirates up 1-0. 

Pham again came through for the Pirates in the seventh with another RBI single to left off Sonny Gray (8-3). Two batters later, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa extended the lead to 4-0 with a base hit up the middle against reliever Riley O’Brien.

Kiner-Falefa advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored on Spencer Horwitz’s single to right field. 

Keller (3-10), Dennis Santana and Isaac Mattson combined for the shutout.

Key Moment

The Cardinals loaded the bases against Mitch Keller in the top of the first, but the Pirates’ starter got Thomas Saggese to ground out to end the threat. 

Star of the Game

Mitch Keller retired the final 11 batters he faced and struck out leadoff man Brendan Donovan for the final out in the seventh to cap off his excellent start. 

Stat to Know

This is the first time the Pirates have recorded three straight shutouts since June 14-16, 2015. This is the third time the Pirates have recorded shutouts in all three games of a series — the others came in 1976 against the St. Louis Cardinals and 1903 against the Boston Beaneaters. 

Notable Performances

• Mitch Keller: 7.0 innings, five hits, no runs, one walk, seven strikeouts, 97 pitches/61 strikes
• Tommy Pham: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 1 for 3, two RBI, one run

Noteworthy

• The Pirates are outscoring their opponents 43-4 during their six-game win streak.
• Mitch Keller passed Paul Maholm for the most strikeouts in PNC Park history. Keller now has 389.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a base hit in the seventh. The streak  is tied for the longest by a Pirate this season along with Adam Frazier.
• RHP Dennis Santana returned from his three-game suspension.

Up Next

The Pirates are off on Thursday before starting a nine-game road trip against the Seattle Mariners on the Fourth of July. First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET.