After tough start to 2nd half, Keller regains All-Star form

PITTSBURGH -- In Mitch Keller’s last start, a 12-strikeout performance against the Twins, catcher Jason Delay dropped one of the season’s best one-liners: “Screw it, we’re going to go punchie.” Evidently, Delay is not out of material.

Keller was in the midst of one of his best outings of the season Friday, having tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, when Nick Madrigal roped a 98.6 mph line drive off the right-hander’s right shin. The impact dropped Keller to the ground, and as he sat on the infield grass, the question of whether Keller could go on began to emerge in the ballpark’s collective consciousness. Delay, though, wasn’t having it.

“He was sitting on the ground,” Delay said. “I just looked at him and said, ‘Get up. You’re fine. Let’s go.’ He said, ‘All right. Help me up.’ I did, and that was that. I wasn’t about to let him get out of that game. It worked out.”

Keller added, “I was just kind of just sitting there, and JD came out and he goes, ‘Get up, let’s go, we’re finishing this.'”

The two, indeed, finished what they started. Following one warmup pitch, Keller retired the next two batters he faced without much stress to finish the night on his own terms, tossing eight shutout innings with six strikeouts to one walk as the Pirates beat the Cubs, 2-1, on Friday at PNC Park.

“I know this was another special night for him, but it feels like it’s the same every time he’s out there,” Delay said. “I’ve said this many times, but he’s got so many weapons. When he’s able to mix those weapons in the zone, every time he goes out there, he has a chance to do something special. And tonight was a perfect example of that.”

For as many pitches as Keller possesses, the right-hander kept his arsenal simple against Chicago, relying almost exclusively on his three fastballs: his cutter (36 pitches), his sinker (29) and his four-seam fastball (21). The only breaking pitch he threw to the Cubs was his sweeper, an offering he utilized seven times.

“The fastball was just placed really well,” said Cubs outfielder Ian Happ. “He did a good job keeping it up in the zone, keeping it away from us. Cutter, slider were kind of in to lefties or off the plate to righties. He just wasn't really leaving anything over the middle. We hit some balls hard right at people the last two days. But he pitched a good game and he was in the zone. He wasn't giving us free passes. He was making it tough."

Added Cubs manager David Ross, “We hit some balls hard late, but he was just really good. He's been on a good run for them. Came into the game throwing the ball really well. We came in swinging the bat really well. Something had to give. I thought we got off our ‘A’ swings. It's just, stuff was moving all over the place. He kept us at bay. You've got to tip your hat to him."

Keller had an opportunity to become the first Pirate to throw multiple shutouts in a single season since Jeff Suppan in 2003. With Keller at 93 pitches through eight innings, Pirates manager Derek Shelton elected to roll with closer David Bednar, who allowed a solo home run to Happ but recorded the save.

Shelton said he would’ve considered sending Keller back out for the ninth inning if he hadn’t been struck in the shin. Upon seeing the replay, Shelton elected to err on the side of caution and let his other All-Star pitcher finish the job.

“I was even curious if he was going to push me [to stay in], and when I went down and saw it, he got flushed up pretty well,” Shelton said. “Overall, it would have been probably a challenging conversation. If you pitch that well, you put yourself in the conversation, which is what we’re looking for.”

Keller has resembled his first-half form over his past three starts, allowing four runs (three earned) across 20 innings with 25 strikeouts to five walks. In his first five starts after the All-Star break, by contrast, Keller allowed 27 earned runs across 26 2/3 innings (9.11 ERA) with 25 strikeouts, nine walks and eight home runs allowed.

“I always knew that I was good and I felt good out there and had good stuff,” Keller said. “It was just figuring out what was different. I think compiling and figuring out what was working has been huge.”