Mitch Keller opened his 2022 season on Saturday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was hoped that the Pittsburgh Pirates’ right hander could get off to a solid start to this season. Unfortunately for him and the Pirates, he once again struggled on the mound, as the Cardinals beat the Bucs by a 6-2 score.
Keller gave up four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings on the mound. His mound opponent, Miles Mikolas, gave up two runs on six hits in just 3.2 innings. Kodi Whitley earned the victory while Keller was tagged with the loss.
The Pirates took the lead early on a sacrifice fly by Yoshi Tsutsugo in the first inning, scoring Daniel Vogelbach. St. Louis quickly answered in the bottom of the inning when Nolan Arenado doubled home Dylan Carlson to tie the game.
A RBI single by Tsutsugo in the third scored Ke’Bryan Hayes to give the Pirates a 2-1 score. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, that would be the last run they would score on the day.
A single by Arenado in the bottom of the third tied the game, and a two run homerun by Paul DeJong made it 4-2. A single by Corey Dickerson in the fifth and a double by Arenado in the sixth gave the Cardinals a bit more breathing room, as they coasted to a comfortable 6-2 victory.
So unfortunately for the Pirates, they have opened the season with back to back losses. They have already given up 15 runs in the first two games of the series. They will look to earn their first victory of this young season on Sunday afternoon when they send Bryse Wilson to the mound against Steven Matz for the Cardinals.
Record vs. Cardinals: 0-2
Record vs. N.L. Central: 0-2
Record on the Road: 0-2
Overall Record: 0-2
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
