BOSTON — Mitch Keller doesn’t wear sleeves when completing household chores. On a chilly day in Boston, Keller flashed some forearms and incredible stuff while delivering one of the best starts of his career, helping the Pirates to a series sweep against the Red Sox.
The red-hot bat of Bryan Reynolds, an overall uptick in offense, terrific work from the bullpen and a flat-out incredible catch by Ji Hwan Bae might’ve been the primary storylines during the first two wins of this series. But in the finale Wednesday afternoon, Keller ensured the starting staff did its part with seven dominant innings.
Keller’s fine work set the stage for a 4-1 Pirates victory against Boston at Fenway Park, Pittsburgh recording its first three-game sweep against an American League team since beating the Detroit Tigers three times in a row from March 30-April 1, 2018.
It wasn’t all pretty, however. As dominant as Keller was at times and as many feel-good vibes the Pirates will bring back to Pittsburgh (4-2) with them for the home opener on Friday, there could be concern over Oneil Cruz.
On a strange play at third base in the seventh inning, Cruz got tangled up with Boston’s Rafael Devers and exited the game in the bottom half of the inning. Per the Pirates, Cruz is currently being evaluated for a face injury.
Carlos Santana carried the Pirates offense with a solo home run in the fourth and picked up another RBI with a double in the two-run seventh.
Earlier in that frame, Jason Delay led off with a double, advanced to third when Cruz reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Reynolds sacrifice fly to left.
With nobody at third, Cruz smartly broke for the bag. He, Devers and the throw from behind home plate arrived at the same time and Devers may have inadvertently made contact with the area around Cruz’s left eye.
Cruz was hunched over for several minutes before briefly deciding to remain in the game, scoring on Santana’s double.
The two-run seventh extended the Pirates lead to 4-0, but the bigger concern came in the bottom half of the frame, when Cruz exited for Connor Joe and a bunch of defensive changes.
ON THE MOUND
After struggling to locate his stuff on opening day, this was a completely different version of Keller, the one we saw in spring and for the bulk of 2022, a pitcher intent on pounding the zone and varying his pitch mix.
Ace stuff, really.
Keller allowed an earned run on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts, surviving a brief scare with a foul ball over the fence hit by Red Sox pinch hitter Reese McGuire that was originally called fair in Keller’s final inning. Keller regrouped to strike out McGuire.
The seven innings and 107 pitches thrown both tied Keller’s career highs. Furthermore, the 78 strikes he threw were the most for a Pirates pitcher since Gerrit Cole on April 24, 2015.
AT THE PLATE
The homer for Santana had to feel good after the veteran first baseman began the day hitting just .105, with neither a homer nor an RBI this season. But after walking in his first plate appearance, Santana got a gift.
Red Sox starter Corey Kluber, who played alongside Santana in Cleveland from 2011-17, hung a first-pitch curveball and Santana hooked it inside the Pesky Pole in right.
After Boston manager Alex Cora curiously pulled Kluber after five — he threw just 67 pitches and had retired six in a row — the Pirates rallied in the sixth against right-handed reliever John Schreiber.
Reynolds, who had been 11 for his past 17 against the Red Sox, stroked a leadoff double. Andrew McCutchen singled to give the Pirates runners on second and third with Hayes coming to bat.
The third baseman put down a gorgeous bunt on a safety squeeze play, allowing Reynolds to score easily and the Pirates to increase their lead to 2-0.
UP NEXT
The home opener is next. Rich Hill is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in 19 career appearances (five starts) against the White Sox. He allowed three runs in five innings while dropping a 6-2 decision in his Pirates debut on Saturday in Cincinnati.
