PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller’s up-and-down season continued, the right-hander exiting Friday’s game after just two innings because of a heat-related illness. The Pirates’ offensive miscues, on the other end, have seemingly abated with the return of Ke’Bryan Hayes.
With Keller out early against the Miami Marlins, the Pirates’ bats and bullpen did the heavy lifting, scoring a season-high in runs in a 9-2 victory at PNC Park, one that gives them a 2-0 lead in this series and a chance to win it on Saturday.
Two games into his return, Hayes, the Pirates’ terrific third baseman, smacked a two-run homer to get things going in the bottom of the first inning and finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Overall the Pirates went 6 for 10 with runners in scoring position, capitalizing on opportunities all night against a Marlins team that has now lost seven in a row.
With Colin Moran and Phillip Evans on rehab assignments and set to return soon, it was encouraging to see what he top of the Pirates order did against Miami, going 8 for 19 and driving in all nine runs. When he’s back, Moran will return to the cleanup spot, bumping Gregory Polanco and Jacob Stallings back.
If he hits the way he did at the beginning of the year, Evans will certainly help somewhere.
After Keller left, Duane Underwood Jr., Chasen Shreve and Chris Stratton combined to finish the game, Stratton — a former starter — tackling the final 3 2/3 innings.
The magic of Hayes was on full display, as the Pirates grabbed a 2-0 lead two batters into the game. After Adam Frazier walked, Hayes connected on an elevated slider from Marlins starter Cody Poteet, the ball landing a few feet shy of the shrubbery in center field.
It was obviously a big moment for the Pirates and Hayes, who returned a two-month absence because of a left wrist strain on Thursday night. In the first game of this series, Hayes went 2 for 4 with a triple and made a couple of sparkling plays in the field.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as Keller followed an efficient, scoreless first inning by walking the bases loaded in the second. A tapper back to the mound from Poteet netted the second out before second baseman Jose Devers ripped a hanging curveball from Keller just inside the first-base bag for a two-run double.
Although Keller got Starling Marte to bounce out to second to end the inning, it was another rough one for Keller, who has alternated between bad and good starts the entire year, unable to achieve any sort of consistency.
In the five where Keller has struggled, the right-hander has worked just 19 innings, pitching to a 13.26 ERA with 18 walks, 17 strikeouts and five home runs allowed. In the other five, Keller has gone 25 2/3 innings and has a 1.75 ERA with just eight walks, 31 strikeouts and one home run allowed.
Keller was able to get some swings and misses Friday, picking up eight over two innings. But that paled in comparison to his sudden loss of control in the second inning, something that has happened too often this season with Keller.
The Pirates took advantage of a couple walks from Poteet to score a run and surge ahead, 3-2, in the third inning.
Coming into the game zero for his past seven and just 3 for 34 (.088) with runners in scoring position with 14 strikeouts and no extra-base hits, Polanco did what he hasn’t done enough times this season and drove in the run. He did it on a sharp single to center, scoring Frazier, who would actually drive in Pittsburgh’s fourth run.
That came in the fourth inning, after back-to-back singles from Kevin Newman and Erik Gonzalez plus a walk to Cole Tucker loaded the bases. Frazier lined a fastball into center field.
After chipping away, the Pirates finally knocked the tree over in the sixth inning, scoring five runs to produce a 9-2 lead. Frazier slapped a single the other way to score one, then Hayes pulled a fastball into left field, between shortstop and third base for another.
Reynolds smoked a double into right field (107.8-mph exit velocity) to make it a 7-2 game, and Stallings followed with his single, pulling another inside pitch to score a pair.
