Pittsburgh Pirates: Henry Davis First MLB Scuffles, More Takeaways From Losing 2 of 3 in Arizona

Mitch Keller continues to play stopper

One of the positives from this season has been the continued growth of Mitch Keller. Being named an All-Star for the first time in his career, the righty had blossomed into the ace of the Pirate pitching staff.

In this series in Arizona, Keller put that on display. When his team was in dire need of it Keller played stopper. It was not the first time this year Keller put a foot down and played stopper when his team needed him to. Problem is, this time, the rest of the team let him down in a 3-2 10 inning loss on Saturday.

Keller pitched 5.2 hitless innings to start the game. The two-out single he allowed in the 6th inning was the lone hit he allowed in 7 scoreless innins pitched. Keller did battle his command at times walking five batters, but he also struck out four while generating six swings-and-misses. He also mixed in his patented looking strikes that freeze batters.

When Keller exited the game the Pirates led 1-0. They appeared to be on their way to a victory on the back of Keller pitching a gem and once again playing stopper. The Pirate ace, once again, did his job in his start.

Unfortunately, Colin Holderman took over in the 8th inning and immediately allowed a game tying home run. After pitching a scoreless 9th inning, some poor defense and luck burnt David Bednar in the 10th inning as the Pirates were walked off, wasting Keller's start.