Keller puts his cutter to work vs. Twins
Hayes on time to rip home run
BRADENTON, Fla. — If you’ve been distracted by Pitt hoops, Steelers free agency or the Penguins’ hotand-cold ways and haven’t really been paying much attention to Pirates spring training, well, what happened Saturday during a 7-4 victory against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park offered a comprehensive review.
Opening day starter Mitch Keller again pitched well and has now walked just one and struck out 20 this spring. Facing a Minnesota lineup that included six left-handed hitters, Keller worked a lot on his cutter — and it looked terrific, arguably the best it has all spring.
Meanwhile, Ke’Bryan Hayes launched his third home run of the spring during a three-run fourth inning, crushing a hanging curveball at 107.1 mph. The ball sailed over the fence in left-center and continued to show Hayes’ increased ability to pull the ball with authority.
Manager Derek Shelton had Hayes hit third, a spot where he’s probably best suited behind Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, provided he’s able to continue taking such loud swings.
“He’s stronger, he looks good and he’s moving well,” Shelton said. “I think the biggest thing we’ve talked about is he’s on time. When we’ve seen him on time, we’re seeing him pull the ball and get it in the air. The consistency of his timing is something that’s really stood out.”
Speaking of standing out, two players who’ve done that — and did so again Saturday — were Travis Swaggerty and Canaan Smith-Njigba. They faced a long road to playing time in mid-February but since games started have been terrific for the Pirates (7-12-3), who notched a third consecutive win.
Swaggerty crushed a 439foot home run in the seventh inning, the longest bomb for a Pittsburgh hitter this spring. He also has the No. 2 mark, a 433-footer March 1 vs. Detroit that’s tied with Reynolds (March 12 vs. Atlanta). Smith-Njigba, who had gone deep twice in his past three games, doubled and scored in the sixth.
Keller pitched into the fifth and threw his cutter 32 times among his 77 pitches (46 strikes). The pitch has become a weapon. Although Keller struck out seven, the cutter has been a reliable tool to induce soft contact, much like his sinker last season.
The signature moment came to open the fifth inning, when he broke the bat of Twins center fielder Mark Contreras and calmly flipped to first base for the out. Keller worked 4⅔ innings and allowed only a solo homer to left fielder Trevor Larnach to open the fourth inning.
In five starts, Keller has permitted six earned runs and four homers, meaning much of the damage has been limited to solo shots.
Swaggerty, who entered the game 5 for 7 with runners in scoring position this spring, turned on a 96 mph fastball that was located middle-in and got all of it, the ball leaving his bat at 106.6 mph.
“That was my best-feeling swing of the spring so far,” Swaggerty said.
On the mound
Aside from continuing to pound the strike zone, it was intriguing how Keller chose to do it against the Twins — with that cutter. Using that pitch 42% of the time was intentional. And smart.
Not that he can’t or won’t throw it against righties, but it has been especially effective against those who hit from the other side of the plate.
All told, Keller racked up a combined 26 called strikes or whiffs on the afternoon, often using his cutter to bail him out of trouble.
“Obviously sometimes you fall behind, and you never try to walk anybody,” Keller said. “There are some situations where you’re trying to not let the guy hit”
At the plate
Hayes wasn’t the only Pirates hitter worth noting. Reynolds doubled and scored prior to Hayes’ bomb.
With a .353 average and 1.095 OPS in the seven games before Saturday, SmithNjigba has been attracting plenty of attention. The young outfielder kept it up by turning on an inside slider in the sixth inning. Miguel Andujar drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Rodolfo Castro — part of the less-than-stellar competition at second base — contributed a run-scoring single.
It has been a frustrating spring for Castro, who prior to that hit was batting .189 in 37 plate appearances with an alarming number of strikeouts (16). Neither he, Ji Hwan Bae nor Tucupita Marcano has done much to distinguish himself, which could leave the door ajar for Mark Mathias.
The former Brewer and Ranger drove an up-andaway fastball to right field for an RBI double in the fourth inning, giving Mathias his first hit and RBI as a Pirate.
Quotable
“I was kind of mad, too, to be honest. He was mad. I
was mad. I wanted to throw the pitch. You always dream about throwing in the ninth inning, punching a guy out. You don’t dream it up like that.” — Colin Holderman on the game ending on a pitch-clock violation.
Up next
Another trip to Ed Smith Stadium on Sunday and another start for Vince Velasquez against the Orioles. Luis Ortiz will get the ball Monday against the Red Sox.