Mitch Keller's longest spring outing yet, Liover Peguero keeps hitting, more from Pirate loss against the Orioles

Mitch Keller had his longest outing of the spring thus far, Liover Peguero remains hot at the plate, and more from the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 Grapefruit League loss against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night

On Wednesday, the Pirates played the first primetime game of their Grapefruit League schedule. Their first primetime game of the spring came at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, against the Baltimore Orioles.

In Sarasota, the Pirate were defeated by the Orioles 6-4. This came after the Bucs allowed a pair of runs in the 8th inning, giving the Orioles a lead in a tied game they would not relinquish. With the loss, the Pirates are now 5-7 in Grapefruit League play.

Mitch Keller on the bump

Pirate ace Mitch Keller started for the Bucs, marking his 3rd start of the Grapefruit League campaign. Keller pitched 4 innings for the first time this spring, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, a walk, a home run, and a strikeout.

It might be easy for some fans to raise an eyebrow over Keller having a 6.75 ERA through his first 9 innings of Grapefruit League action. However, it is nothing to worry about. New contract in hand, Keller should be primed for a big season. While his ERA is not pretty, it is just 9 innings.

Additionally, stats in Spring Training games do not matter. What matters is the approach hitters have in the box, where a pitcher's velocity is, what their stuff looks like, etc. For Keller, through 3 starts, his velocity and stuff have been just fine.