Mitch Keller's first start of the season was exactly what a team, reeling from the opening loss, was seeking.
Keller threw 86 pitches and 58 for strikes as he worked six innings and set the tone for the Pirates' 4-3 win over the Marlins tonight here at loanDepot Park. He allowed five hits and gave up one earned run while walking one and striking out four. There were plenty of takeaways from Keller's start, but one thing to notice from this one was the elevated use of his changeup.
It's a pitch that he only threw 21 times last season and it was the least-used pitch in his seven-pitch arsenal. But, Keller wanted to improve that pitch this spring and he's continued to try and find the right times to utilize it and against the right hitters.
Keller threw his changeup 11 times tonight, all of which came against left-handed hitters. He drew four swings, got one whiff and was in the strike zone with it 45% of the time.
"I had some good action to it, just throwing it a little bit too much arm side," Keller said. "For the next one, throw it a little more over the plate and get some action there. I think I see some really good results when it’s over the plate and down. So, that will be the focus next time out. But, overall, I was pretty happy about it."
The right-hander didn't use it at all during the first two innings and threw it for the first time in the third when he caught Graham Pauley looking as he put it right down the middle of the plate after a first-pitch curveball. The next three times he threw it, he missed outside.
He did get Graham Hicks to ground out on a changeup that was painted on the outer half of the zone. In total, the Marlins only recorded one hit -- a Matt Mervis sharp line-drive single in the bottom of the sixth -- on the pitch all night.
"Mitch kinda set the tone and was very effective, mixing in the changeup," Derek Shelton said. "I thought he did a good job with that. Overall, I think he kinda set the tone, and we worked off that."
For the past three seasons, Keller has been one of the consistent pieces of this rotation. He's struggled at times in the second half of seasons but he's continued to be a reliable piece and he was again tonight.
Keller's best inning came in the bottom of the fourth after the Pirates scored twice to take the lead. He threw just seven pitches and used three of them to strike out Jonah Bride before inducing a pop-up to center field and then a ground out to Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.
"That’s the whole goal is when our team scores, it’s a big thing as pitchers, especially starting pitchers, go out there and have a shutdown inning, throw a zero up and come right back in," Keller said. "So that was our plan: ‘How can we make this inning as quick as possible and let us hit?’ "
The Pirates came right back in and added an Oneil Cruz two-run home run to right field.
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
3:31 am - 03.29.2025MIAMIMound visit: Keller pounds upgraded changeup
Mitch Keller's first start of the season was exactly what a team, reeling from the opening loss, was seeking.
Keller threw 86 pitches and 58 for strikes as he worked six innings and set the tone for the Pirates' 4-3 win over the Marlins tonight here at loanDepot Park. He allowed five hits and gave up one earned run while walking one and striking out four. There were plenty of takeaways from Keller's start, but one thing to notice from this one was the elevated use of his changeup.
It's a pitch that he only threw 21 times last season and it was the least-used pitch in his seven-pitch arsenal. But, Keller wanted to improve that pitch this spring and he's continued to try and find the right times to utilize it and against the right hitters.
Keller threw his changeup 11 times tonight, all of which came against left-handed hitters. He drew four swings, got one whiff and was in the strike zone with it 45% of the time.
"I had some good action to it, just throwing it a little bit too much arm side," Keller said. "For the next one, throw it a little more over the plate and get some action there. I think I see some really good results when it’s over the plate and down. So, that will be the focus next time out. But, overall, I was pretty happy about it."
The right-hander didn't use it at all during the first two innings and threw it for the first time in the third when he caught Graham Pauley looking as he put it right down the middle of the plate after a first-pitch curveball. The next three times he threw it, he missed outside.
He did get Graham Hicks to ground out on a changeup that was painted on the outer half of the zone. In total, the Marlins only recorded one hit -- a Matt Mervis sharp line-drive single in the bottom of the sixth -- on the pitch all night.
"Mitch kinda set the tone and was very effective, mixing in the changeup," Derek Shelton said. "I thought he did a good job with that. Overall, I think he kinda set the tone, and we worked off that."
For the past three seasons, Keller has been one of the consistent pieces of this rotation. He's struggled at times in the second half of seasons but he's continued to be a reliable piece and he was again tonight.
Keller's best inning came in the bottom of the fourth after the Pirates scored twice to take the lead. He threw just seven pitches and used three of them to strike out Jonah Bride before inducing a pop-up to center field and then a ground out to Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.
"That’s the whole goal is when our team scores, it’s a big thing as pitchers, especially starting pitchers, go out there and have a shutdown inning, throw a zero up and come right back in," Keller said. "So that was our plan: ‘How can we make this inning as quick as possible and let us hit?’ "
The Pirates came right back in and added an Oneil Cruz two-run home run to right field.
Want to participate in our comments?
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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