Pittsburgh Pirates: Previewing Three-Game Interleague Clash vs Tigers

Game Two
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Time: 6:40 PM EST
Pitching Matchup: Mitch Keller (8.74 ERA, 5.40 FIP) vs Spencer Turnbull (2021 debut)

The make-or-break 2021 season of Mitch Keller‘s will continue in game two of this series on Wednesday night. Coming off a woeful start against the San Diego Padres the righty will be looking to bounce back and he needs to.

Keller has allowed 11 earned runs on a pair of home runs, 16 hits and he’s walked 8 batters in just 11.1 innings of work. Through three starts inconsistency has been the story for Keller. He struggled in his first start, looked brilliant in his second and then got shelled in his third start. Maybe he will continue to pitch well every other start and turn in a strong start on Wednesday night?

In all seriousness, Keller needs to put a foot forward in this start. Even if Keller struggles it would be promising to see him pound the strike zone and avoid walks. Lack of control has become one of Keller’s biggest issues and the Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as Keller, want to see improvement in his control.

For the Tigers, righty Spencer Turnbull will be making his 2021 season debut. Turnbull will be coming off the COVID-19 list to make his season debut on Wednesday night. In 11 starts last season Turnbull posted a career-best 3.97 ERA to go with a 3.49 FIP, 12.0% walk rate and a 21.1% strikeout rate in 56.2 innings of work.

In his MLB career Turnbull has found more success against right-handed hitters than he has left-handed hitters. RHHs have hit for a .235/.323/.375 slash line off of Turnbull in his MLB career, while LHHs have hit for a .276/.355/.403 slash line. Due to this, don’t be surprised to see Derek Shelton go with a lefty heavy lineup on Wednesday night.