Keller records 600th K during gem against Reds

Now that Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller doesn’t have to be the ace of the staff, he’s pitching more like one.

Keller had a banner day on the mound, throwing 7 innings of scoreless ball, giving up only two hits and two walks.

He also hit a milestone for Keller. He struck out seven, recording his 600 ^th career strikeout along the way.

Over 15 starts this season, Keller is 8-4 with a 3.11 ERA with 85 strikeouts over 92.2 innings.

Over his last seven games, Keller is 5-1 with an ERA of 1.65.

It wasn’t looking too good for Keller at the beginning of the season. He had an ERA of 5.18 and was 2-3 at the end of April.

Keller has also been an innings-eater.

He went into the 8 ^th inning on Wednesday and has pitched 46 consecutive games going into at least the 5 ^th inning.

Thanks to an 8th inning Bryan Reynolds home run, the Pirates were also able to take another home series, this one against the division rival Cincinnati Reds.

Reynolds' home run also extended his hitting streak to 17 games (MLB leader).

If the Pirates continue to stay in the Wild Card race, it will be because of pitchers like Mitch Keller.