Thanks to another quality start from Mitch Keller, the Pirates beat the Mets and tied the series

After being passed over for the All-Star Game, Mitch Keller had no lack of motivation to show that he is one of the best starting pitchers in baseball.

It didn’t take long for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander to remind the New York Mets why he is the team’s star: He struck out the team in the first inning, making his tenth quality start of the season.

The Pirates got a two-run home run from Oneil Cruz and beat the Mets bullpen in a five-run sixth inning for an 8-2 victory to secure a tie in the four-game series on Monday afternoon before 16,158 spectators at PNC Park.

Keller (10-5) allowed two runs on seven hits without a walk and recorded six strikeouts in eight innings, his second-best start of the season following a win over the Los Angeles Angels on May 6 at PNC Park.

Keller came in with firepower, throwing strikes on nine of his first 10 pitches, getting Francisco Lindor to swing and Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvares to see third strikes in the opening inning. In the second inning, Mark Vientos hit a single, but Keller got Luis Torrens to hit a 6-4-3 double play that ended the inning.

The Pirates offered a strong defense behind Keller, especially first baseman Rowdy Tellez. He stretched to right to catch a line drive from Jose Iglesias to start the third inning. Then, after Jeff McNeil hit a single and Keller hit Lindor with a pitch, Tellez made a spectacular dive to left on a sharp Nimmo grounder along the first base line to end the period. When Vientos hit a 380-foot fly ball to center, Jack Suwinski caught the ball on the wall for the final out of the fourth inning.

The Pirates gave Keller a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Andrew McCutchen drew a nine-pitch leadoff walk against Mets starter Christian Scott. Scott got his only hit in 5 2/3 innings when Oneil Cruz slammed a 2-1 splitter 431 feet into the visiting bullpen for his 14th home run.

Keller shut the team down again in the fifth inning when McNeil hit a 98.1 mph four-seamer for a third strike to end the inning. Keller became the fourth Pirates pitcher to record 300 strikeouts at PNC Park, joining Paul Maholm (383), Francisco Liriano (371) and Gerrit Cole (356).

But Harrison Bader let a leadoff single disappear under the glove of a diving Bryan Reynolds in left field in the sixth inning, and Keller hit a 3-0 cutter over the middle that Nimmo hit 428 feet into center for a home run that tied the game.

When McCutchen was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, the Mets challenged the decision and had it overturned. After McCutchen hit a flyout to left that took out his seventh consecutive batter, the Mets replaced Scott with right-hander Eric Orze.

Orze (0-1) made his major league debut, walking Reynolds and allowing a line-drive single by Cruz to put runners on the corners for Rowdy Tellez, who was ahead of the throw with a soft grounder to third base and scored the winning run.

Things only got worse for the Mets. They replaced Orze with Adrian Houser, but Nick Gonzales hit a sharp grounder down the right field line for a double that scored Cruz. McNeil dropped the ball after it bounced off the short fence, resulting in an error that allowed Tellez to score and Gonzales to reach third base. After Gonzales scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2, Joshua Palacios hammered Houser’s 2-1 sinker 374 feet into right field for his first home run of the season for the Pirates and a five-run lead.

Keller allowed two singles with two outs to Nimmo and Alvarez in the eighth inning, but got Pete Alonso to hit a pop-up to the first baseman in foul territory to end his 107-pitch performance. He left the mound to a standing ovation from the Pirates fans.

The Pirates scored another run in the eighth inning when Ke’Bryan Hayes stepped in as a pinch hitter for Cruz and hit a leadoff single to center right, advanced to third base on a single by Gonzales and scored when Palacios made a ground ball that resulted in a forceout.

With their bullpen decimated, the Pirates turned to right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr., whose contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, to replace Keller and end the ninth inning.