5/8/23- By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter
Free from the bombardment of the AL East teams, the Pirates managed to finally find success against a familiar foe. After sweeping the Rockies a few short weeks ago, Pirates were able to break out of their slump behind a stellar start from Mitch Keller and a wall-scraping two-run home run from Rodolfo Castro, which proved to be the deciding factor in the game.
Keller was untouchable from start to finish as he threw 103 pitches (77 for strikes) allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk with 8 strikeouts
News & Notes
- This is the first time that Keller had pitched beyond the 8th inning. It was the first time a Pirates starting pitcher had gone the distance in 370 games
- Despite continuing to struggle with runners in scoring position (1-6 in the game tonight), the Pirates managed 7 hits and 4 walks.
- Ke’Bryan Hayes had another multi-hit game – his third in a row.
- The team made three outs on the bases, a worrisome trend given they still lead the league in stolen bases but were unsuccessful on all three recorded attempts (Castro was caught for the third out of the 5th inning as part of a double steal).
- This is the first time this season the Pirates played in a game lasting under 2 hours. Official game time: 1:55.
- The Pirates hope to keep it going tomorrow night for game 2 with the Rockies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35PM. Let’s Go Bucs!
Inside The Bucs Basement 