Pirates getting – but wasting – good starting pitching recently

Finally, the starting pitching is coming around over the past week for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The rest of the team, though, is letting the starters down during a four-game losing streak.

Mitch Keller’s six-inning outing in which he did not allow an earned run in the thin air of Coors Field on Saturday was the latest example of the Pirates wasting good starting pitching late in their season-long 12-game road trip. The defense (an Oneil Cruz error led to the Colorado Rockies’ first run) and offense (one extra-base hit, no runs) ensured Keller’s effort went for naught.

It was the third time in four days a Pirates’ starter went at least six innings and allowed one run or fewer — but the Pirates lost each time. Keller, J.T. Brubaker (Wednesday in Miami) and Zach Thompson (Thursday against the Marlins) combined to allow two earned runs and 12 hits over 19 2/3 innings in that span.

“Those guys have put themselves into the position to go (deep into games) because of their efficiency and because of their execution and just attacking hitters,” manager Derek Shelton told reporters in Denver on Saturday, as broadcast on AT&T SportsNet. “It’s the ebbs and flows of a season. We’ve gone through stretches where we swung the bats really well and didn’t pitch well.”

What was gained from the #Pirates’ longest winning streak in three seasons has been immediately given right back. Saturday’s 2-0 loss at the Rockies was the Pirates’ fourth straight defeat.https://t.co/e1jW2bbBlb

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) July 16, 2022

Keller’s outing Saturday was his second consecutive stellar start. He went a career-long seven innings and was charged with one run on five hits in a win against the Marlins. Saturday, he became the second starting pitcher in Pirates history who did not allow an earned run during a Coors Field debut, according to the Pirates Radio Network. Only five Pirates starters have ever pulled that trick.

Keller said “yes, of course” this is the most complete he has felt as a pitcher during a major-league career that began in 2019 with great promise as one of the top pitching prospects in the game but that has mostly been a disappointment since. Keller entered this season with the worst ERA in the majors among qualified starters over the course of his MLB tenure.

But Keller has allowed two or fewer earned runs in eight of his past 11 starts.

“It’s been really good,” Keller said, according to AT&T SportsNet. “Just a lot of things going my way, a lot of hard work paying off here. Just keeping after it and trying to fill up the zone as much as I can. I think that’s really given me a lot of success.”

Keller isn’t the only starter who has turned his season around after a rough start to 2022. The recent spate of quality starts from three members of their rotation is a welcomed turnaround for the Pirates, who still by far have the fewest wins from starters in the majors (11).

• Keller was demoted to the bullpen after a 6.61 ERA in his first seven starts, but has a 3.36 ERA in the 11 outings (two relief appearances and nine starts) since.

• Brubaker had started 0-7, and he had a 5.50 ERA through eight starts. In the 10 starts since, his ERA is 3.10.

• Thompson allowed 21 runs (16 earned) and had a 2.23 WHIP over 14 1/3 innings in April. Over the past 2 ½ months, his ERA is 2.57 with a .220 average against.

It’s been somewhat the opposite for the Pirates’ offense. In June, the Pirates hit the second-most home runs in the National League. During July, the Pirates are tied for 22^nd in the majors in homers, in addition to being 26^th in batting average and 25^th in runs.

“We’ve got to get both (pitching and offense) synced up,” Shelton said.

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