Mitch Keller caps career year by setting Pirates record for strikeouts by right-handed pitcher

Mitch Keller was flirting with a no-hitter when he got Nick Castellanos looking at a called third strike to end the fifth inning for a strikeout that separated him from all other Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitchers.

With his 210th strikeout, Keller passed A.J. Burnett for the most strikeouts in a single season by a Pirates righty. Only two pitchers in Pirates history — both lefties — have had more strikeouts in a season.

“I think it validates all the hard work he put in over the offseason and how consistent he was through the year,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday night on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show after the 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in 10 innings. “You don’t get to that number unless you’re really consistent throughout the year, and Mitch has been really consistent. It’s just another building block for him.”

210 strikeouts this season for Mitch Keller. Insane.

Breaks the franchise record for most strikeouts in a season by a right-handed pitcher

88.6 MPH cutter, 2577 RPM, 33 inVB, 7 inHB pic.twitter.com/ZDxGRZPuIm

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 26, 2023

For Keller (13-9), it was a moment that served as the culmination of his best season in the majors. He made 32 starts for the first time in his five-year career and topped 200 strikeouts for the first time while pitching a career-high 194 1/3 innings.

“All the game planning and stuff that goes into this and scouting, there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t get noticed,” Keller said, giving credit to pitching coach Oscar Marin and game planning coach Radley Haddad. “I’ve just got to go out there and execute the game plan. So, there’s a lot that goes into it and there’s a lot of people are in this with me.”

Lefty Bob Veale owns the Pirates’ single-season strikeouts record with 276 in 1965. Only Veale — who had 213 or more strikeouts four times between 1964-69 — and Oliver Perez (239 in 2004) have had more strikeouts in a season than Keller for the Pirates.

Congrats @mkeller11 on breaking my single season K record! Keep punching tickets kid, it's fun to watch! ???????????? #STFD #pirates #batman

— AJ Burnett (@wudeydo34) September 27, 2023

Burnett has been encouraging Keller all season since throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the home opener, and sent a congratulatory tweet during the game: “Keep punching tickets kid, it’s fun to watch!”

No wonder Keller was speechless.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words, honestly,” Keller said. “It doesn’t really seem real. Just thinking about all the Pirates legends that are out there, great pitchers, and to take over from A.J. Burnett is kind of cool. … It’s a really cool feat, I guess. If you would have told me that at the beginning of the year, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.”

With the exception of a pair of walks to superstar Bryce Harper, Keller kept the Phillies off the bases for the first five innings while relying primarily on three pitches. Instead of seeking soft contact, Keller went on the attack. Mixing his cutter, four-seamer and sinker, he induced 12 whiffs and 13 called strikes on 92 pitches.

Mitch Keller against the Phillies tonight:

6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 92 pitches

Here’s a thread of all 6 of his strikeouts tonight ???? pic.twitter.com/6b06IytGj1

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 27, 2023

Mitch Keller, Filthy 78mph Curveball. ???? pic.twitter.com/j6ODDAfaFz

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 26, 2023

“That’s huge,” Keller said. “Throughout the middle of the season, I lost that aggressiveness a little bit. It’s been a really big emphasis for me, specifically after the Milwaukee start, was to try and just stick with my strengths and throw hard because I’m a power pitcher. That kind of sets up everything else.”

His first pitch of the sixth inning, however, gave the Pirates a scare.

When Keller threw a cutter that sailed high and outside, he shook his right arm and signaled for catcher Endy Rodriguez to visit the mound. Pirates manager Derek Shelton and assistant athletic trainer Tony Leo checked on Keller, who blamed it on a “stupid” follow through where he hit his funny bone.

Keller said he scraped his glove arm over his right elbow, sending a shiver down his pitching arm. It’s something that has happened in the past on curveballs. This was the first time it occurred on a cutter.

“So that’s kind of what scared me a little bit,” Keller said. “It was a terrible cutter. My arm must’ve got out of the natural arm slot that I threw on and on the follow through I clipped my elbow and sent a zinger down my arm. It kind of freaked me out a little bit.”

By the time Shelton and Leo got to the mound, the sensation had gone away and Keller felt fine. They had him throw a practice pitch, just to be sure, then allowed Keller to remain in the game.

“If there would’ve been any thought or concern,” Shelton said, “there was no chance he was staying in.”

Brandon Marsh drove Keller’s next pitch, a 91.7-mph fastball over the middle, 412 feet to center field to end the no-hit bid and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Keller then gave up a single to Johan Rojas, who was forced out when Kyle Schwarber hit a groundout to second. Schwarber advanced to third on Trea Turner’s single to right and scored on Harper’s sacrifice fly to center to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

The Pirates haven’t decided whether Keller will make another start Sunday in the season finale — “We’ll see how he feels and kind of go from there,” Shelton said — but Keller isn’t dwelling on whether he will get a chance to reach the 200-inning mark for the first time. He sounded satisfied with getting the strikeouts mark.

“It’s not like the end of the world if I don’t (make the start),” Keller said, noting that he would need a good start to reach 5 2/3 innings. “It would be really cool to get to 200, but I’m not sweating it out or anything like that. I’m really glad to make 32 starts and be healthy and really take what I’ve learned this season, the volume and the amount and take it into next year and just keep building off that.”