ST. LOUIS _ After his team struggled offensively during a second consecutive loss to the Cardinals on Saturday, Derek Shelton remained calm. The second game of his MLB managerial career was certainly frustrating, but the Pirates new manager didn't tip his hand. He said only that he believed the Pirates would start to contribute more at the plate.
It took 24 hours for the Pirates to prove Shelton right. In the finale of a three-game, season-opening series in St. Louis, the Pirates' offense awoke from its mini-slumber, and the result was Shelton's first win as a major league manager.
Mitch Keller earned the win on the mound as the Pirates avoided the sweep by topping the Cardinals, 5-1, at Busch Stadium. Reliever JT Brubaker followed with a terrific showing in his MLB debut, striking out four over a pair of scoreless innings, and Michael Feliz and Nick Burdi combined to finish things off.
Shelton thus far has been nothing but cool, calm and collected; however, the Pirates (1-2) getting something going at the plate may be tied to tempers flaring in the bottom of the third inning.
That's when home-plate umpire Jordan Baker ejected Derek Holland for arguing balls and strikes. Seated under one of the green tents that are set up in the stands at Busch Stadium, Holland was apparently letting Baker hear it over a questionable called strike on Jarrod Dyson the inning before.
After managing just one extra-base hit in the first two games of this series, the Pirates offense responded by discovering some power in the fourth, putting together an impressive two-out rally.
The first came when Colin Moran, bumped up to the cleanup spot, turned on a 2-2 slider from Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson, the ball leaving the bat at 106.3 mph and landing in St. Louis' bullpen. Just like that, 1-1.
Phillip Evans followed that with a single before Jose Osuna found a first-pitch sinker on the inner-half of the plate and blasted it 429 feet (exit velocity: 108.4 mph) into the seats in right-center field for a 3-1 Pirates lead.
It was an interesting salvo for Osuna, who did not start Saturday despite contributing two hits and two RBIs the night before. Osuna hit 10 home runs in 261 at-bats (mostly off the bench) in 2019. If neither Guillermo Heredia or Cole Tucker hit enough to play _ and they haven't _ Osuna has the opportunity to earn some additional playing time.
The first couple innings for Keller proved to be an adventure. He needed just eight pitches to breeze through the first, the quickest inning of his young career. He issued a pair of walks to start the second but got a key double-play ball off the bat of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
In the third, the Cardinals broke through.
Second baseman Kolten Wong singled and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Tommy Edman drove Wong in for a 1-0 St. Louis lead. The play was Keller's fault, too: On a ground ball to first baseman Colin Moran, Keller was late covering first, and Edman won a race to the bag.
After the Pirates built a 3-1 lead, they added to it in the fifth behind a Jacob Stallings double, a couple of walks and a sacrifice fly from Josh Bell. Facing reliever Austin Gomber, Bell got a 3-1 fastball up in the zone but narrowly missed it, though his fly ball to center did the job and pushed the Pirates ahead, 4-1.
It was a strong start for the 24-year-old Keller, Pittsburgh's top prospect. Although he did not have his best stuff, Keller gutted his way through five innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks.
Keller retired the final seven batters he faced before giving way to Brubaker in the sixth. Brubaker struck out Wong and Edman on sliders before giving up a hit to Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Bryan Reynolds ended the inning with a terrific throw from left field, nailing Goldschmidt at second.
Brubaker struck out designated hitter Matt Carpenter on a two-seamer and right fielder Dexter Fowler with another slider, leaving a pair of Cardinals on the bases.
The Pirates tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Josh Bell walked and scored from first on Evans' double, the third baseman's third hit of the afternoon.
