All-Star Keller searching for 2nd-half form

ANAHEIM -- It was almost two weeks ago when Mitch Keller wore his National League All-Star uniform. He hasn’t looked like an All-Star since.

Keller’s struggles continued in his second start since the break, allowing six earned runs on nine hits -- three of which where homers -- in a 7-5 loss against the Angels on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium.

The 27-year-old right-hander was ambushed in a four-run fifth that began with consecutive homers by No. 9 hitter Andrew Velazquez and leadoff man Luis Rengifo. Velazquez’s long ball, which cleared the short right-field fence for his first homer of the season, came off a waist-high 84 mph sweeper on the inside half of the plate.

“My mentality is to throw it hard and let the spin take care of it,” Keller said. “It’s not exactly where I wanted, but it was in a pretty good spot and he put a good swing on it.”

Rengifo then jumped on Keller’s next pitch -- a low changeup over the middle of the plate.

“That was a changeup that I was hoping to get ahead in the count with,” Keller said.

The Angels tacked on two more runs later that inning on Taylor Ward's flare RBI single and Matt Thaiss' sacrifice fly.

“It looked like he got away from his fastball a bit,” manager Derek Shelton said of Keller. “He had some situations in which he could have used it.”

Following Pittsburgh’s combined shutout on Saturday when five pitchers helped put an end to the Angels' 19-game home run streak, the Halos wasted no time returning to form. Shohei Ohtani lifted a 92 mph cutter from Keller to center field for a solo homer in the first inning -- the first of four Angels home runs.

The Halos' second-inning score was the result of a Mike Moustakas double followed by a Thaiss single, each coming on pitches up in the zone. Keller was able to limit the damage then, but could not do so later.

Since his All-Star appearance on July 11 in Seattle, Keller has yielded 14 earned runs and 19 hits over just 11 innings against Cleveland and Los Angeles. Keller has a 7.04 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in July. His struggles have been more apparent of late, though he’s often been able to counter them with quality outings. But after the Guardians tagged him for a season-high eight runs on Tuesday, he couldn’t put together a bounceback start against the Angels.

“My stuff felt as good as it has since the beginning of the year,” Keller said. “I have to hit the video room and see what’s going on. I have to see what’s different from the beginning of the year to now.”

Pittsburgh's bats were relatively dormant for six innings -- possibly because of the unusual delivery from Angels starter Tyler Anderson, whose changeup forced 15 swings and misses.

One exception was Bryan Reynolds. His first-inning solo homer to straightaway center field was a personal win as he looks to improve on a month in which he’s hit the ball well, but has just a .505 OPS in July to show for it. Batting from the right side against the left-handed Anderson, Reynolds’ 10th homer of the year came off the bat at 105 mph and traveled a projected 422 feet, according to Statcast.

Reynolds followed that with a sharp third-inning single up the middle. He might have had another hit in the seventh if reliever Jacob Webb had not been in the way. Instead, it resulted in another tough-luck putout.

Still, the Pirates put together a promising rally in that inning. The middle-infield duo that teamed up on a crucial bases-loaded double play in the fourth inning of Saturday’s victory combined to produce a run Sunday afternoon. Shortstop Liover Peguero doubled down the right-field line and second baseman Nick Gonzalez beat the throw home to score from first base. Then, with Andrew McCutchen at the plate and Peguero at third, Webb mishandled a throw back from Thaiss behind the plate, allowing Peguero to run home without a throw.

“It was a bad throw and the pitcher was not staying aware,” Shelton said. “It was very heads-up.”

Carlos Santana came through with an opposite field two-run double to give the Pirates a chance in the final innings, but the early hole proved to be too much to overcome.