Indians rally for 3 runs in 9th as Pirates waste another strong Mitch Keller outing

Mitch Keller and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates had a choice to make Friday night after their 40th loss of the season, 4-3 to the Cleveland Indians.

Feel good or feel bad.

For Keller, he could feel good about ending the season by throwing 11 consecutive hitless innings, six against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 19 and five Friday at Progressive Field. He joined the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer (1939) as the only National League pitchers since 1901 to throw five-plus innings in consecutive starts without allowing a hit.

Or, he could wonder what happened to his command while walking eight batters. A Pirates starter hadn’t done that since Jeff Locke in 2016.

“He threw five no-hit innings against a playoff team,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We’d prefer more strikes, but I think it just shows the quality of the stuff. That’s pretty impressive without your best stuff.

“The fact that he leaves the season with 11 straight no-hit innings, that’s pretty good.”

Keller, who twice walked the bases loaded, was pleased that he gave his team a chance to win, but he wondered what went wrong with his control.

“I don’t think I’ve walked eight people in a game, ever. I just didn’t have it, searching the whole game for it,” he said. “I felt different. Something was off, myself, the mound, the view. I don’t know. It just didn’t feel the same.

“(Catcher Jacob) Stallings and I did a great job finding what was working, throwing off-speed, spin, just anything to get a strike, anything to get them out. Thankfully, it worked.”

Keller was in line for his first victory since July 26 before Chris Stratton surrendered a 3-1 Pirates lead in the ninth inning by allowing three runs on three hits, with a walk and wild pitch. Stratton was working his second inning of relief work because Richard Rodriguez was unavailable after pitching in three of the past five games.

After Keller and Nik Turley pitched the first six hitless innings, Sam Howard was nursing a 2-1 lead in the seventh when the Indians’ Delino DeShields bunted for a base hit between the mound and first base. That ended the Pirates’ bid to make history and put the potential tying run on second base. DeShields reached first without a play being made on him, but Howard pitched out of the jam.

Later, Shelton said he had no trouble with the Indians bunting in that situation.

“No reaction. It’s a smart baseball play,” he said. “It’s a 2-1 game. He puts down a good bunt.”

What was questioned was Howard not charging the rolling baseball more aggressively and, perhaps, creating a close play at first base.

“Shelty took a little time with me after that inning,” Howard said, “(saying), ‘Next time you’re in that situation, just commit to it, see if you can get him yourself.’

“I don’t know if I would have got him. I wish I would have tried, committed to the ball. Good bunt in a good spot.”

The Pirates were scoreless in seven of nine innings, but scored in the fourth on Gregory Polanco’s seventh home run, a two-run shot that left his bat at 113 mph, according to Statcast. Adam Frazier hustled a groundball single to right field into a double in the eighth, scoring on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ single.

The loss ended the Pirates’ three-game winning streak, their longest of the season. It also gave them an 18-40 record, the worst in the majors, as they inch toward the right to make the first selection in the 2021 draft. They are two games behind the Texas Rangers, who have the next-worst mark (20-38) with two games to play.

Shelton felt bad about the loss, but he said it’s “really exciting” to see his starting pitchers making dramatic improvement. Starters have allowed one or no runs in nine of the past 11 games.

“Our starting group found their stride,” he said. “Early in the year, we weren’t getting as many lengthy starts. We were really having to tax our bullpen.

“You win based on starting pitching, 100%. The teams that win year in and year out, the playoff teams, they do it on starting pitching.”

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