It wasn’t that long ago that I began paraphrasing a famous line from The Wizard of Oz to Mitch Keller’s starts—”is he a good Mitch or a bad Mitch?”
Lately, Keller’s been a good Mitch, and he was today. Detroit rookie right-hander Alex Faedo, however, was just as good in today’s matchup, and the Pirates’ bats were kept largely silent in the 3-1 loss to the Tigers at PNC Park.
Keller looked strong and confident, going six innings with seven strikeouts, using his newfound sinker to considerable effect. His only stumbles were in the top of the second inning when he gave up a triple to Daz Cameron that scored Eric Haase, who had reached base on a forceout that knocked off Spencer Torkelson, one of Keller’s two walks on the day.