Tough at-bats force Keller's pitch count to rise in another short outing

The Pirates entered a three-game set against a National League Central division opponent with a sliver of optimism knowing that their big three of Mitch Keller, a returning Jared Jones and Paul Skenes would be slated to take the mound. All three have provided plenty of encouraging moments this season -- the latter two as first-year major-league players -- and will be counted upon to serve as the linchpins to what should be a talented starting rotation for years to come. 

Fresh off a series against the Reds in which the Pirates took three of four games, including a dramatic walkoff win on Sunday, Keller aimed to set the tone for the entire series. Evidently, the Cubs had other plans. They grinded through at-bats against the team's de facto ace, running up his pitch count and getting him out of the game early before piling on for 15 runs against three relief arms, as the Pirates suffered a lopsided 18-8 loss Monday night at PNC Park. 

Keller, a more than reliable leader of an overall stellar rotation that still maintains the fifth-best ERA (3.79) amongst starting units in Major League Baseball, was tested by a Cubs lineup that collectively delivered with quality at-bats in forcing the Pirates to set season highs in both runs allowed and hits allowed (21). Keller gave up just three of those runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts, but he only lasted four innings at 97 pitches. He threw 15 pitches -- 10 of which were thrown in a single at-bat against Seiya Suzuki -- in the first before tossing 26 or more over a three-inning span in which six different batters saw six or more pitches. Three of them were locked into eight-pitch at-bats that helped drive up that pitch count. 

"They were just really tough at-bats. Every single one of them," Keller said. "I think they showed that in the first inning. They were coming out swinging and they were just making really good takes, really good at-bats." 

Keller has often showed his mental fortitude in being able to navigate his way through dangerous situations. Even when he hasn't been at his best in terms of utilizing certain weapons within his arsenal, he's relied on other pitches and found ways to remain effective. 

On this night, his command wasn't nearly as sharp as it was when he gave up just three hits and struck out nine batters, all while throwing 98 pitches, through seven scoreless innings against the Rangers last time out. But Keller admits he felt good with his stuff. Even Derek Shelton agreed. What lacked was his pitch execution, the aforementioned less-than-stellar command and the ability to keep the Cubs -- one of the league's top base-stealing teams -- from doing what they wanted to on the basepaths, as they swiped seven bags in Keller's four innings. They finished with eight, their most in a single game since 1911: 

"I mean, they're really good at running. Good runners. Bad job on my part of holding them there. Just probably fell into rhythm, timing, pitch clock, whatever it might be," Keller said. "They just had a good game plan with when they were gonna go and test us out. They destroyed us today, destroyed me, personally. Just not good."

Given the tough task Keller faced in having to battle through tough at-bat after tough at-bat, I asked him about the challenge associated with keeping a positive mindset when hitters are constantly working their way into deep counts. His response speaks to the maturity he continues to show, even when things aren't going in his favor. 

"Always just trying to make a pitch, no matter what happened on the last pitch. The next pitch is the one you're gonna get them out (with) and just trying to execute that one every single time," Keller said. "Whatever moment you're in, just trying to execute that pitch. It definitely does get challenging because you start throwing more and more pitches and they're seeing more and more stuff. Hard to go to something that you're used to going to." 

Despite only lasting four innings for the third time this month, Keller managed to help keep the Pirates within reach, as he departed the game with them trailing 3-2. Things didn't start to spiral until Domingo German's second inning of work out of the bullpen. That's when the Cubs struck for an eight-run sixth inning that featured four walks -- one intentional -- and four hits, including a grand slam by Dansby Swanson: 

For German, he simply struggled to attack the zone, throwing just 40 of his 70 pitches for strikes. It was a wildly different outing compared to the start he had against the Rangers in which he needed just 75 pitches to cover six scoreless innings. 

"We saw the outing in Texas where he just dominated the strike zone. Today, he was almost 50-50 balls and strikes," Shelton said. "He went out in the first inning and was 1-2-3, then walked a guy and we were a pitch away with Suzuki. It’s a 5-2 game and a 1-2 count and he hung a breaking ball and it kind of fell apart from there.”

German's departure was followed by the MLB debut of 33-year-old Brady Feigl, who spent 10-plus years playing minor-league and independent ball before having his contract selected by the Pirates in a move that corresponded with Hunter Stratton's placement on the 60-day injured list Sunday. Feigl registered his first big-league out to end the seventh before ultimately getting hit hard for six runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. One of those hits was a solo homer by Isaac Paredes to lead off the eighth inning. 

With the score out of hand, the Pirates turned to Rowdy Tellez for the second time in three nights. He allowed two hits and hit three batters, but managed to get two necessary outs to put an end to a six-run ninth on a miserable night for the home team. 

"We got our butts kicked tonight," Shelton said. "We need to move on and (hope) Jared gives us a good start tomorrow and we go fresh. We come off yesterday, we’re on a high and we get a walk-off win and tonight we just got beat. They beat us in every facet of the game.”