Mitch Keller on Monday pitched his first career complete game and Rodolfo Castro hit a two-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Keller (4-1) shut out the Rockies on four hits while striking out eight and walking one in a game that took just 1 hour, 55 minutes. The fifth-year veteran had never pitched into the eighth inning before.
“It’s really special, a really cool thing, especially to do it with these guys because we’ve been struggling,” Keller said. “We used the fastball a lot — two-seam, four-seam cutter — and they were working. Other than that, it was just going out and executing and letting the defense work. It was just an all-around great effort.”
Photo: AP
It was the first nine-inning shutout by a Pirates pitcher since Jameson Taillon on April 8, 2018, against the Cincinnati Reds and just the eighth since 2000.
Keller threw 77 of his 103 pitches for strikes.
Pirates catcher Austin Hedges was impressed by how effortless Keller made things look.
“I crouched for, like, 12 minutes today,” Hedges said with a smile. “My legs feel amazing. I told Mitch: ‘Dude, it’s like 8:30 right now.’”
Castro’s homer off Kyle Freeland in the seventh carried into the bullpens in center field and broke a scoreless tie.
Freeland (3-4) also had a strong start, giving up two runs and seven hits in seven innings with four strikeouts and three walks. The left-hander got some defensive help as catcher Elias Diaz twice completed inning-ending double plays by throwing out runners attempting to steal.
“[Keller] was throwing really well and Kyle was, too,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “What a great pitchers’ duel.”
The last Rockies catcher to complete two double plays with caught stealings in one game was Yorvit Torrealba in 2006 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I can’t thank him enough,” Freeland said of Diaz. “That’s top-tier defense right there. He’s always working his butt off behind the plate for me.”
Freeland on April 17 was tagged for nine runs over 2-2/3 innings in a loss to the Pirates at Coors Field. Pittsburgh swept that three-game series, outscoring the Rockies 33-9.
Ke’Bryan Hayes had two hits in his third straight multihit game for the Pirates, who hold a slim, but surprising lead in the National League Central.
The Rockies got two hits from Kris Bryant. Colorado, last in the National League West, had won six of seven.
Connor Joe led off the seventh with a single for Pittsburgh. Castro followed with his fourth home run of the season.
“I’m just grateful to be the guy who could help the team win after a rough seven games,” Castro said.
The Rockies put runners in scoring position just twice against Keller, and he induced ground-outs to end both threats. Colorado fell to 5-2 this month after going 7-20 last month.
Keller lowered his career ERA against the Rockies to 0.39 in four games, three of which have been starts.
Elsewhere, the Cardinals tamed the Cubs 3-1, the Brewers battered the Dodgers 9-3, the Tigers mauled the Guardians 6-2, the Rays blanked the Orioles 3-0 and the Yankees crushed the Athletics 7-2.
The Royals routed the White Sox 12-5, the Rangers sank the Mariners 2-1, the Diamondbacks mastered the Marlins 5-2, the Nationals felled the Giants 5-1 and the Angels edged the Astros 6-4.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next