BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates got some good performances from most of their young pitchers Saturday, but fell short against the Twins in the spring opener, 2-1.
Mitch Keller got the start and looked good, going two scoreless innings with only two hits on his ledger. His fastball sat in the lower 90s, a promising sign for the first start of the season.
"It's always good to get the first one done and build off of that," Keller said. "I think it's a good test to see where you are, and I feel really good where I'm at right now."
While the Pirates' top pitching prospect has said he is approaching this spring like he needs to earn a spot on the roster, it seems safe to assume he is going to be slotted into the rotation for opening day.
Still, if he is looking to have a better spring than he did in 2019, Saturday's start was certainly a departure from a year ago.
"Last year I struggled I think every single game I pitched up here," Keller said. "[This year, I] have a different attitude. More confidence going out there."
Keller didn't flinch fielding his position either, grabbing a pair of comebackers, including one which he used to get the lead runner out as he tried moving to third.
"I know there were probably some nerves for him," Derek Shelton said of Keller's day. "New manager, new pitching coach, go and pitch in front of them for the first time. But I thought the ball came out of his hand pretty well."
Jacob Stallings praised his pitcher, but thought Keller was not quite as sharp as he had been in the live batting practice in Pirate City and left a couple fastballs over the middle.
"That's nitpicking really," Stallings said. "I thought he was good, and I think it was a really good first day for him."
•It was also Shelton's first game as a manager, too, and he got to do it against the team he was the bench coach for last year.
"You double and triple check everything to make sure it's right, because I definitely don't want to screw up something in front of [Twins manager] Rocco [Baldelli]," Shelton said in jest. "Didn't want to have the lineup out of order, DH in the wrong spot."
"Anytime you check off firsts at any point in your life, it's a different feeling. It's a cool feeling."
• It wasn't the best opener for James Marvel, who allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in his only inning of work. He had trouble locating his fastball, spiking a couple and missing around the plate. His inning came to a close by allowing a long fly out which was a couple feet away from being a grand slam.
• Ke'Bryan Hayes drove an opposite field double to the wall in the seventh inning and drew a walk in the ninth.
He was also thrown out at home trying to score from second on an infield single by Andrew Susac after the Twins' fielder knocked it down on the edge of the outfield grass.
Hey, the game didn't matter.
• Blake Cederlind struck out the side in the ninth, hitting 99 mph on the gun and showing some wicked movement on his sinker and cutter. I'll have a separate article on him later.
• Speaking of Cederlind, his teammates paid homage to his golden locks before the game, wearing wigs and doing their best hair flips.
The wigs were Derek Holland's idea. Again, more in the separate later.
Blake Cederlind is a whole mood. pic.twitter.com/fEUoJkq22z
— Pirates (@Pirates) February 22, 2020
• Shelton was visited pregame by Rod Carew and Tony Oliva, two Twins legends who spent a lot of time with him during spring training the last two years.
"I know they don't make road trips," Shelton said. "Yeah, that took me back a little bit."
Shelton ended up taking a picture with those two and two Pirates legends, Manny Sanguillen and Bill Mazeroski.
"That [will] definitely be something that will probably go up on my wall at home," Shelton said.
• Who pitched: Mitch Keller: 2 IP, 2 H
James Marvel: 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB
Michael Feliz: 1 IP, 1 BB
Clay Holmes: 1 IP
Miguel Del Pozo: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Williams Jerez: 1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB
Blake Cederlind: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO
