Strong start from Mitch Keller helps Pirates defeat Blue Jays

The Pittsburgh Pirates got another strong start from Mitch Keller, who recorded three strikeouts and tossed three scoreless innings.

Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer, and Lolo Sanchez added a solo shot in the four-run eighth inning as the Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2, on Tuesday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.

It marked the 11th consecutive game the Pirates have played in less than three hours this spring and, at 2 hours, 13 minutes, their fastest since a 2:09 game against Toronto on March 18, 2018.

Keller has nine strikeouts without a walk in seven innings this spring. Carmen Mlodzinski completed a 1-2-3 seventh on eight pitches.

Signed to a one-year, $6.725 million deal, Santana hit his first homer of spring training when he sent Ricky Tiedemann’s sinker 340 feet over the right-center wall for a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.

The Blue Jays tied it against Mike Burrows in the fifth, when Rob Brantley tripled to drive in Kevin Kiermaier and then scored on Whit Merrifield’s single to short.

The Pirates regained the lead in the seventh, when Nick Gonzales drew a two-out walk and scored when Tyler Heineman reached on an error by center fielder Wynton Bernard.

Sanchez homered to make it 4-2 in the eighth, and the Pirates padded their lead with runs by Jack Brannigan and Henry Davis on an error, and Gonzales drove in Endy Rodriguez with a single to left.

Vince Velasquez is expected to start against Kyle Gibson when the Pirates visit the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.