It’s been a tale of two Mitch Kellers all season. He started the year with a bad outing, and has alternated between good and bad in every start since.
On Monday against the Cincinnati Reds, Keller showcased the good and the bad in the same start.
He got through three innings in a pretty dominant fashion. The only damage incurred came on a solo homer in the top of the second inning off the bat of Eugenio Suarez. Other than that, Keller was working quickly, inducing weak contact, striking out two batters and erasing the only other baserunner on a double play.
Then the fourth inning hit, and it all unraveled. It started with a weak, bloop single from Jesse Winker, then a walk to Nick Castellanos. The hard contact started after that. Mike Moustakas ripped a line drive, RBI single to left, then Tyler Naquin roped a double into the right field corner to score another. Keller finally got an out after that, but the next two batters reached on a two-run double and a single to left.
It had all gone so badly so quickly. The death knell was delivered by the eighth batter Keller faced in the inning, Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle. Mahle squared to attempt a bunt multiple times in the at-bat, clearly happy to trade an out for a possible run with a runner on third. Keller couldn’t get the ball over the plate, walking Mahle to load the bases. He left, still responsible for the three runners on base. To add insult to injury, all three runners scored with right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., on the mound to finish the fourth.
By the time the inning was over, the game felt over. A 1-1 tie entering the inning had turned into a 7-1 Pirates deficit in the blink of an eye. Just as disheartening for the Pirates is that it wasn’t as bad as it would get. The Reds added another run in the sixth, then three more in the seventh and eighth respectively. The Pirates lost 14-1 when all was said and done, losing for the ninth time in their last 11 games and falling to 14-20 on the season.
The pitching, and namely Keller, were the lowlights of the game, to be sure. It is a tall task to ask an offense to overcome 14 runs from an opponent, especially one that has scored as infrequently as the Pirates have during their recent losing skid. Still, catcher Jacob Stallings’ solo home run, which tied the game in the second, was the only notable offense of the night. Second baseman Adam Frazier and centerfielder Bryan Reynolds combined for four hits and three walks in eight plate appearances, but they didn’t amount to much.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the third inning with two outs, but Stallings struck out to end the threat, setting the stage for Keller’s fourth inning of doom, which in turn, set the stage for the Pirates’ unpleasant unraveling.
It’s a familiar sight against the Reds this season. In their three game set earlier this season, the Reds outscored the Pirates 30-8 en route to a sweep. With Monday’s drubbing, the Reds have now beaten the Pirates 44-9 across four games. The Pirates have two chances to stop that bleeding with their remaining two games against the Reds this week.
