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Pittsburgh Pirates: String of Series Victories Ends in Atlanta
By Marty Leap
Need for starting pitching shines through
Starting pitching continues to plague the Pirates. Mitch Keller pitched 5 innings on Friday night but allowed 8 earned runs. This was also the third consecutive start in which Keller's velocity was down for his four-seamed fastball, sinker, and cutter.
Johan Oviedo failed to get out of the 4th inning on Saturday night. He also had a brush up with Ronald Acuña Jr. over an inside fastball that led to the benches clearing. This made back-to-back poor starts for Oviedo since his compelte game shutout in Kansas City.
Sunday afternoon, Luis Ortiz took the ball for the Pirates looking to secure a series victory. Even though he failed to record a strikeout, Ortiz still did his part to help sew up a series win. Ortiz allowed just 1 run on three hits and two walks in 5.1 innings pitched.
Finding more starting pitching needs to be the team's top priority this offseason. Keller and Oviedo will be in the Opening Day rotation next season, but everything after those two is a massive question mark. Plus, the Pirates do not have a true no. 1 starter in either of those two.