Day removed from All-Star exclusion, Mitch Keller spins 8-inning gem as Pirates topple Mets (2024)

Jul. 8—Joey Bart hadn't caught Mitch Keller since the Pirates right-hander tossed a complete game against the Angels on May 6.

The battery had to settle for a slightly lesser performance Monday afternoon at PNC Park, but not by a lot. Keller tossed eight innings of two-run ball, striking out six while walking none in the Pirates' 8-2 win against the Mets.

The showing left Bart as impressed as he's ever been by Keller.

"He's elite, man. Stuff's elite," Bart said of Keller. "He's just ready. Every fifth day, sixth day, whenever he's out there, he's ready and throws the [crap] out of it. He competes his ass off, and that's all you can ask for."

A day removed from being left off the National League's All-Star Game roster, Keller said he flushed that disappointment from his mind. Still, being barred from the midsummer classic left Keller a bit sour on Sunday.

After all, he attended for the first time last year.

"It sucks when you don't get the chance to go," Keller said, "but there's literally nothing I can do about it."

A similar sentiment on the topic circulated throughout the clubhouse after Keller picked up his team-best 10th win of the season, one shy of a trio that's tied for MLB's lead with 11. Bryan Reynolds, who is currently slated to join rookie Paul Skenes as the Pirates' two All-Star representatives, hopes Keller will eventually join them in Arlington, Texas, as a replacement.

"When somebody's deserving of it, you want them to get it," Reynolds said. "So yeah, I was obviously disappointed for him."

So, too, was manager Derek Shelton. He and Keller talked on Sunday after Reynolds and Skenes were informed they'd made the National League's roster. Less than 24 hours after publicly pleading for Keller's inclusion, Shelton doubled down on that stance in light of his superb start.

"That's the leader of a staff. A guy that leads a staff, that's what he does," Shelton said of Keller. "That's what a guy that pitches opening day does. That's what a guy that, in my mind, is an All-Star does. It was outstanding."

The only blemish on Keller's line on Monday was a two-run homer by Brandon Nimmo, yet he still lowered his season ERA to 3.40 by the time his outing concluded.

Keller was exemplary from the outset, needing just 10 pitches to strike out the side in the opening frame. It was arguably as dominant as Keller's been in an inning all season; the lone hiccup was a cutter to Francisco Lindor that ran just a hair inside for a ball.

The 28-year-old hurler effectively pitched to contact and threw a career-high 79 of his 107 pitches for strikes. The Mets mustered only singles against Keller aside from Nimmo's blast.

The way Keller pitched was in stark contrast to his previous appearance, when the Cardinals tagged him for a season-high six runs, five of them earned. That start may have hurt Keller's All-Star hopes, but Monday's did nothing but make his exclusion seem like a snub.

"Hell yeah, I feel like he's an All-Star," Bart said. "It's harder than ever to make the All-Star Game as a pitcher with how dominant the game's trending to. So, it's really hard. And there's a lot of guys that didn't get credit for their efforts.

"But he's definitely right up there at the top, in my opinion."

On the mound

Brent Honeywell Jr. made his season debut in the ninth inning, relieving Keller in the lopsided affair. Honeywell signed a minor league contract with the Pirates in February and had pitched in 31 games for Triple-A Indianapolis before being added to the major league roster this past weekend.

The right-hander gave up a leadoff single, but retired the next three Mets hitters in order to put the finishing touches on Keller's start.

At the plate

Oneil Cruz ended the Mets' no-hit bid in the fourth inning, walloping a splitter from New York starter Christian Scott for a two-run shot. It was Cruz's 14th home run of the season.

Shortly after the Mets evened the count on Nimmo's blast, the Pirates reclaimed the lead thanks to an extended two-out rally in the sixth that culminated in five runs.

Rowdy Tellez drove home the first run of the frame by beating out an infield single. Nick Gonzales brought a pair in with a double down the right-field line and later scored on a wild pitch. Joshua Palacios capped off the inning with a solo shot, which was also his first home run of the season.

Palacios, who added another RBI on a fielder's choice in the eighth, was all out of sorts in celebrating his homer with third base coach Mike Rabelo. The two had something choreographed, Palacios said, but more practice is required.

"My boy folded at the last minute," Palacios said. "We'll get it right. We'll get it right."

Injury update

Cruz did not finish the game, being pinch-hit for by Ke'Bryan Hayes in the top of the eighth inning. Shelton said Cruz's hamstring tightened up while running the bases in the sixth inning on Gonzales' double, and that he was pulled early out of an "abundance of caution."

They said it

"If that's not an All-Star," Shelton said of Keller, "I'm hard pressed to see what is."

Up next

Tuesday: Pirates at Brewers, 8:10 p.m., American Family Field, Milwaukee.

TV, radio: SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-FM (93.7)

Probable pitchers: TBA for Pirates; RHP Colin Rea (8-2, 3.34) for Brewers

Key matchup: Rea has a career 5.55 ERA against the Pirates and was tagged for three runs by the club across six innings earlier this season.

Hidden stat: Carmen Mlodzinski has an 0.55 ERA and .130 batting average against in his last 12 appearances out of the bullpen dating back to May 31.

Wednesday: Pirates at Brewers, 8:10 p.m., American Family Field

Probable pitchers: LHP Martin Perez (1-4, 4.72) for Pirates; RHP Tobias Myers (5-3, 3.52) for Brewers

Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and @AndrewDestin1 on X

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