Mitch Keller makes impressive start but Brewers get series sweep
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Mitch Keller had the mentality that he wanted to get ahead on counts so he could lean heavily on his fastball, so it was a good sign when the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander threw 18 of 20 first pitches for strikes.
As efficient as Keller was, Milwaukee Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff was even better. They delivered a pitcher’s duel that had only one hiccup through the first five-plus innings, a solo shot by slugger Rowdy Tellez that made it a one-run game.
That had the Pirates looking for a hero to homer.
Instead, they got a homer by Hiura.
Designated hitter Keston Hiura hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to boost the Brewers to a 4-2 win and three-game series sweep Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Despite a performance that Pirates manager Derek Shelton called outstanding — “it was as good as I’ve seen him pitch,” Shelton said — Keller (0-3) took the loss after allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings.
“If he pitches like this the rest of his career, I’ll be one of the happiest human beings alive,” Shelton said. “It’s just using his stuff. We knew he needed to use his fastball, and he did.”
Keller, who entered the game with a 9.39 ERA, relied heavily upon a four-seamer that averaged 96.5 mph, touched 98.8 and generated seven whiffs and 11 called strikes. Keller threw 58 of 75 pitches for strikes. More important, he pitched with a confidence and conviction that were missing in his first two starts.
“It’s just a mentality of getting ahead from strike one, from the get go,” Keller said. “When I get ahead I know my stuff plays a lot better; when I’m behind, it’s a lot easier to hit.”
For the first five-plus innings, Keller did his best to match Woodruff (2-1) pitch for pitch, with one costly miss in the second inning. That came when Tellez fouled off five of seven pitches before turning on a four-seam fastball and driving it 394 feet over the right-field fence for his second home run in as many days and a 1-0 Brewers lead.
Keller tipped his cap to Tellez, given that he challenged him by mixing a curveball and a changeup before returning to the fastball inside that, upon further review, would have been for a ball.
“I think we lived in there a little bit too much there,” Keller said. “I know I made some pretty good pitches there. He just got me. … It was a really good swing. He’s a really good hitter, too. I can’t hang my head on that one. Just move on.”
Keller gave up singles to Hunter Renfroe and Jace Peterson but struck out Tyrone Taylor on three pitches to escape the inning. Keller only allowed one more hit — an Omar Narvaez single — before leaving with one out in the sixth with Christian Yelich and Tellez next to bat.
“He did exactly what we asked him to do,” Shelton said. “He came out and used his fastball, his velocity maintained throughout the game. He sprinkled in breaking balls when he had to, a couple good changeups. He should walk out of that outing very proud of how he threw the ball.”
Woodruff struck out five of the first nine batters before Pirates designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach broke up his perfect game in the fourth inning by drawing a leadoff walk. Vogelbach also ended Woodruff’s no-hit bid in the sixth with a one-out single to center.
Woodruff finished with nine strikeouts, including Bryan Reynolds three times and Ben Gamel and Josh VanMeter twice each, while allowing one hit and two walks on 95 pitches in six innings. Between Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, the Pirates struck out 19 times while managing two runs on five hits the past two games.
“He was good,” Shelton said. “We were in-between. We did make him work harder into the game. We just couldn’t get any solid contact.”
The Brewers finally got to Miguel Yajure in the seventh as Renfroe hit a grounder down the right-field line for a leadoff double and Narvaez followed with a single to right and advanced to second on the throw. Hiura hit a 3-1 fastball 400 feet to right field for his 11th career home run against the Pirates a 4-0 Brewers lead.
The Pirates finally put a runner in scoring position when pinch hitter Michael Chavis and shortstop Kevin Newman hit back-to-back singles off Brent Suter to start the eighth. The Brewers brought in Devin Williams with two outs to face Reynolds, who drew a walk to load the bases. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a two-run single to score Chavis and Newman and cut it to 4-2, but Yoshi Tsutsugo stranded the tying runs when he struck out looking for the third out.
Hiura came up with two runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth after Aaron Fletcher walked Renfroe and hit Narvaez with a pitch. Chris Stratton replaced Fletcher and jammed Hiura with a pitch that hit the knob of his bat, which catcher Roberto Perez fielded and threw to first for a groundout. The Brewers challenged it, asserting Hiura was hit on the hand by the pitch, but the call stood upon review.
After Josh Hader struck out Jake Marisnick and Diego Castillo to start the ninth, Chavis beat out a grounder to third to bring the tying run to the plate but Newman grounded out to end the game.
The Brewers (8-5) moved into a first-place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, while the Pirates (5-7) dropped to 2 1/2 games back heading into a four-game series at the Chicago Cubs (6-5).
Starting with Keller, Shelton sought to focus on the positives.
“(The Brewers) pitched well, and we knew that coming in,” Shelton said. “You’ve got some frontline starters, and they threw the ball well and they played good defense and they hit some balls and found holes — and we didn’t. Because of it, you’ve got to give them credit. But, I mean, I know we lost three games but we played pretty damn well in this series.”