Pirates

Pirates Preview: Keller & Bucs With a Shot to Take Series Against Dodgers

Published

12 months ago

April 27, 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates (17-8) will try and maintain their offensive momentum in their game three rubber match against the Los Angeles Dodgers (13-12).

Wednesday night, the Pirates’ offense exploded for eight runs en route to their 8-1 victory over the Dodgers.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates exploded for five runs thanks to Rodolfo Castro’s two-run single, and Jason Delay’s two-run double.

There was also a feel-good moment as Drew Maggi entered the game, and despite striking out, Maggi achieved a lifelong dream after 13 years in the minor leagues.

First pitch at PNC is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. You can watch all of the action on AT&T Sportsnet or listen to it on the Pirates radio network, 100.1 KDKA FM

Weather

The skies in Pittsburgh will transition from mostly sunny skies to partly cloudy and will range from 60-67 degrees through the game. There will be a slight wind of 4 mph and blow east/southeast

The Pirates will send out RHP Mitch Keller (2-0, 3.64 ERA)

Keller dazzled for the Pirates in his last outing against the Cincinnati Reds on April 21.

In six innings pitched, Keller gave up four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and struck out five on 89 pitches (60 strikes). Keller’s one walk was a season-low for him in 2023.

Keller didn’t have a ton of swing-and-miss stuff in his last start with just seven, but he limited hard contact most of the night with an average exit velocity of 87.8 mph, and the highest EV recorded was 99.6 mph.

Oddly enough, Keller leaned on his sinker against the Reds, which would be his first game where Keller used his sinker as his primary pitch in ’23.

Keller has faced the Dodgers twice (two starts) and holds a 1-1 record with an ERA of 7.04.

The Dodgers will send out LHP Julio Urias (3-2, 3.33 ERA).

Urias had a less than stellar outing in his last start on April 21 against the Chicago Cubs.

Urias managed to go just 3.2 innings while giving up seven hits, five earned runs, two walks, and striking out four on 86 pitches (52 strikes).

Urias offers a four-pitch mix with a four-seam (44.4%), slurve (33.3%), changeup (14.7%), and a cutter (7.6%).

Urias’ primary pitch has failed him so far in ’23 with a .349 batting average against his four-seam with an average exit velocity of 92.6 mph.

Urias has faced the Pirates seven times (four starts) and holds a 3-2 record with an ERA of 3.19.

Interesting Batting Match Ups

Dodgers Hitters

Freddie Freeman: 4-6 with two walks against Keller
Jason Heyward: 2-12 with a double and a homer against Keller

Pirates Hitters

Ke’Bryan Hayes: 3-8 with two doubles against Urias
Bryan Reynolds: 4-11 with a homer against Urias
Andrew McCutchen: 2-12 with a double and a homer against Urias
Connor Joe: 0-7 against Urias

Tidbits

Ji-Hwan Bae has become the first Pirates player to steal multiple bases in back-to-back games since Starling Marte did it in 2013.
With Jason Delay going 3-3 with three RBIs on Wednesday, he becomes the first Pirates’ number nine hitter to record three-plus hits and RBIs since Erik Gonzalez went 4-5 with six RBIs on Aug. 7, 2020, vs. Detroit.
With Drew Maggi’s pinch-hit appearance, he can finally say he’s played in a major league game after 13 minor league seasons. Maggi becomes the ninth oldest player in the expansion era to make his major league debut at 33 years and 345 days old.