Keller leads Pirates to series tie against Mets | News, Sports, Jobs

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets in Pittsburgh, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH – Mitch Keller pitched eight innings for his 10th win of the season and Joshua Palacios’ home run capped a five-run, sixth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Mets 8-2 on Monday.

Keller (10-5) allowed two runs and seven hits while allowing six strikeouts and no walks in a 107-pitch game. He is the first Pirates pitcher to reach double-digit wins before the All-Star break since Gerrit Cole did it in 2015 and Pittsburgh reached a four-game series tie.

That performance came a day after Keller was not selected for the All-Star game, a decision that angered Pirates manager Derek Shelton.

“That was an all-star performance,” said Shelton. “He had 10 wins before the break and one start left. He pitched badly in eight innings and it was hot and he had to go two long innings. If that’s not an All-Star, I don’t know what is.”

It was the 49th consecutive start in which Keller pitched at least five innings, currently the longest streak in the Major Leagues.

“I thought we had a really good game plan, (catcher) Joey (Bart) and I,” said Keller. “I just tried to attack the zone and fill it as much as I could. Be aggressive. If you do that, good things will happen.”

Oneil Cruz of Pittsburgh and Brandon Nimmo of New York each hit two home runs.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza brought in rookie starter Christian Scott after 77 pitches with two outs and no runner on base in the bottom half of the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2.

Scott was pitching for the first time in the Major League after a four-day break and was therefore limited to a maximum of 75 pitches.

Eric Orze was the reliever, making his major league debut, and failed to strike out any of the three batters he faced. Orze (0-1) walked Bryan Reynolds, then Cruz hit a single and Rowdy Tellez hit an RBI single to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.

Nick Gonzales greeted Adrian Houser with a one-run double. The Pirates scored two more runs on a fielding error by right fielder Jeff McNeil and a wild pitch before Palacios homered to make it 7-2.

“I am grateful for the opportunity,” Said Orze. “Of course it didn’t go as I wanted, but I was confident and felt good.”

It was Palacios’ first home run of the season after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis last week, and he scored another run on a grounder in the eighth inning.

“When I saw Cruz’s at-bat and Rowdy’s at-bat and saw Nick pull that off, I was excited.” said Palacios. “I was ready to go. And then I got to hit something good and was able to unleash it.”

Cruz’s home run was a 431-footer from Scott into the center field bullpen in the fourth inning to open the scoring. It was the only hit Scott allowed.

The Mets tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning when Nimmo hit Keller. It was the first time Nimmo had thrown a 3-0 pitch during his nine major league seasons, which included 3,421 at-bats.

Scott was excellent but is still waiting for his first win after six career starts. He had three strikeouts and one walk.

Nimmo, Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos had two hits for the Mets. The Pirates had two hits each from Cruz and Gonzales.

New York went 4-4 on its eight-game road trip and fell below .500 at 44-45. The Pirates finished 3-4 on the home road.

“Some games definitely got away from us, but honestly that’s the story of the year so far,” Said Nimmo. “We haven’t been able to win any games. And that’s a problem. We hope to get it under control.”

TRAINING ROOM

Mets: Right fielder Starling Marte (right knee bruise) is scheduled for an evaluation later this week, after which he could be cleared to return to baseball activities. … Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement) threw from 90 feet on Monday.

Pirates: Cruz was replaced by a pinch hitter in the eighth inning because of a hamstring strain.

NEXT

Mets: Begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, with left-hander Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.22) facing right-hander Jake Irvin (7-6, 2.80).

Pirates: No starter has been set for Tuesday night’s game against the Brewers in Milwaukee, which opens a three-game series. Right-hander Colin Rea (8-2, 3.34) will pitch for the Brewers.