Pittsburgh Pirates: Mitch Keller Goes 6 Strong, Offense Erupts in 7th Inning to Secure Series Victory

Another excellent start from Mitch Keller and a big 7th inning carried the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the San Diego Padres

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won a series! Yes, you read that correctly. In the midst of a brutal stretch in which the Pirates have gone 3-15 in their last 18 outings, they pick up a much-needed series win to start their short homestand. With this win, the Pirates are now 37-42 on the season.

Mitch Keller was excellent yet again tonight even after having an unusually high pitch count after only two innings of work. Keller's command wasn't what we have come accustomed to, but he still pitched 6 innings in which he had five strikeouts, four hits, and 1 earned run. His season ERA now sits at 3.34 with a 9-3 record.

Carlos Santana started off the scoring with a monster home run to left field following a single by Henry Davis. The offensive would be held scoreless until a huge seventh inning in which the Pirates scored five runs.

Josh Palacios would pinch hit for Austin Hedges where he singled into right field with the bases loaded to score Nick Gonzales, followed by Connor Joe who also singled up the middle to score two more runs. The scoring would continue when Davis would sneak a ball by the first baseman to again score two more to make the score 7-1.

Jared Triolo also made his MLB debut tonight in which he picked up his first Major League hit and looked solid in the field. His promotion was in part to a 10-day IL stint for Ke'Bryan Hayes who is dealing with lower back issues. Triolo is a highly touted glove out of Triple-A Indy who also hit for a .293 batting average, a homer, and 20 RBIs during his time at Triple-A.

Carmen Mlodzinski, Yerry De Los Santos, and Cody Bolton would all come out of the bullpen to secure the series victory. Each of the three pitched a scoreless inning out of the Pirate bullpen to slam the door shut.

Next up

The Pirates look to sweep the Padres as Luis Ortiz (3.74 ERA, 5.12 FIP) is set to toe the rubber on Thursday afternoon. Ortiz's start will come on the heels of arguably the best start of his MLB career. Ex-Pirate Joe Musgrove (3.88 ERA, 3.89 FIP) will start for the Padres. First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 12:35 PM ET.