Mitch Keller leaves 1st spring start with left thigh bruise; Pirates hit 4 homers to top Tigers

BRADENTON, Fla. — After an offseason when Mitch Keller’s four-seam fastball touched triple digits in a bullpen session, there was anticipation he could top 100 mph in his first start of spring training.

Instead, Keller was on the receiving end of one.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was removed with two outs in the second inning after taking a Daz Cameron comebacker with a 104.1-mph exit velocity off his left thigh. Trainer Rafael Freitas tended to Keller, who walked off the mound on his own.

Thanks to two-run home runs by Ben Gamel and Endy Rodriguez and solo shots by Oneil Cruz and Tucupita Marcano, the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, on Saturday in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park. The Pirates have six homers through the first two games.

The thigh bruise marred a strong start by Keller, who threw strikes on 14 of his 22 pitches. He allowed two hits — including the one that ricocheted off his leg for a single — with one strikeout in 1 2/3 innings.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said RHP Mitch Keller was removed for precautionary reasons after being hit on the left thigh by a Daz Cameron comebacker against the Tigers. pic.twitter.com/afmdeQwKwL

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) March 19, 2022

“He got hit pretty flush on the thigh or right above the knee,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It was just more of a precautionary thing because he got stung pretty good, but it sounds like he’s in a pretty good spot. … He threw the ball really well before that. The fastball was good. The breaking ball was good, but I’m not going to take any chances. Instead of sitting and letting him stiffen up, we just got him out of there.”

Keller didn’t touch triple digits but was revving up, as his six first-inning fastballs ranged between 96.2-98.2 mph. Keller’s highest recorded velocity, per Statcast, was 98.3 mph in the second inning. His fastball averaged 93.8 last year, never touching 98 in any of his 23 starts.

“The thing that was more impressive to me was the execution of the pitches and the fact that he was on the plate,” Shelton said. “It really doesn’t matter how hard anybody throws the ball. You have to execute pitches on the plate, and he did that today. I’m really, really happy with where he was at because he worked really hard in the offseason.”

After giving up a single to Riley Greene, who reached second on a wild pitch but was thrown out at third on a grounder to short by Javier Baez, Keller got Jonathan Schoop to ground into a forceout at second to end the top of the first.

Keller started the second inning by striking out Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson, the first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and Baseball America’s No. 2 prospect, then got third baseman Isaac Paredes to ground out to short.

Ben Gamel got all of that one. pic.twitter.com/hsfB97T0OK

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 19, 2022

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead when Gamel hit a two-run homer over the center-field fence off Alex Lange to score Bryan Reynolds, who went 2 for 2 with a pair of singles.

“I’m just trying to find a place that I can get to that’s very repeatable,” Gamel said. “I’m in a good spot right now and just trying to bottle it up.”

HOW DID ONEIL CRUZ DO THAT?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/U0fA6h1ws6

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 19, 2022

The Pirates increased their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Cruz swung in the dirt to send a Jason Foley serving to right-center for a 413-foot home run.

“I thought that ball was about to bounce, and he clipped it,” Gamel said. “He’s pretty talented, man. He’s 6-7, 6-8, and he looks like a big leaguer.”

The Tigers scored two runs off Hunter Stratton in the fifth, when Cameron and Grossman hit solo shots to cut it to 3-2. Cameron’s RBI single scored Jack Lopez to tie it at 3-3 in the sixth.

Marcano homered in the seventh for a 4-3 lead, and Rodriguez hit a two-run shot to make it 6-3 in the eighth. Michael Burrows had two strikeouts in two scoreless innings to earn the win for the Pirates.

Lefty Dillon Peters is scheduled to start Sunday against Anthony Kay when the Pirates visit Toronto at 1:07 p.m. in Dunedin. Bryse Wilson, Anthony Banda, Sam Howard and Roansy Contreras also are expected to pitch against the Blue Jays.