Bats languish as Keller leaves early
Feliz departs without retiring a hitter, leaving the staff dangerously depleted
PIttsburgh Post-Gazette
CHICAGO — The Pirates arrived at Wrigley Field on Saturday clinging to hope that their offensive outburst in the ninth inning the night before might translate into something substantive.
While a contagion did emerge, it was hardly the one they wanted.
Instead of their bats staying hot, the Pirates’ weird propensity for pitching injuries took over, as two of their impact arms, including Mitch Keller, left a 4-3 loss that guaranteed Pittsburgh a third consecutive series loss.
Keller exited the game with two outs in the bottom of the third inning after delivering a curveball in the dirt to Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, the team terming the issue left-side discomfort.
Although he didn’t wince in pain or anything like that, Keller immediately motioned to the dugout that something was wrong. Head athletic trainer Bryan Housand came out to the mound and was soon joined by manager Derek Shelton before Keller was removed from the game.
After facing three batters in the eighth inning — and retiring none of them — Michael Feliz made his abrupt exit with right forearm discomfort. The arm issue is yet another dent to a Pirates bullpen that’s already missing Keone Kela (COVID-19), Kyle Crick (right shoulder/ lat) and Edgar Santana (PED suspension).
In a season where the Pirates are already without starters Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer — not to mention failing to produce any offense whatsoever — an injury to Keller hurts even more.
Not to get too ahead of ourselves because we don’t know the scope of anything here, but this was supposed to be a learning year for Keller, a chance to get his feet wet and develop.
In a 60-game season, even if Keller recovers quickly, it’s still a roadblock; he and the Pirates would obviously rather worry about firstpitch strikes, refining his changeup and burying his breaking stuff.
The injury does potentially open a door for 2015 sixth-round pick JT Brubaker, who made his MLB debut Sunday in St. Louis and looked terrific, striking out four over two shutout innings. Brubaker, who has electric stuff, did take the mound last night but the Pirates are trying to be careful with him.
That’s due in large part to Brubaker’s injury history, as he was limited to just four starts with Class AAA Indianapolis in 2019 because of a right forearm strain. To his credit, the Pirates minor league pitcher of the year in 2018 has looked terrific in spring training dating back to February.
Brubaker comported himself well against the Cubs, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing one hit, one walk and striking out three.
The other component is the fact that Brubaker has always been a starter, and it’s probably where he fits best with the Pirates (2-6). But until Saturday, there simply wasn’t a spot for him. There could be now, depending on what happens with Keller.
This was not a strong start from Keller, even before the injury. Mt. Lebanon’s Ian Happ doubled to start the game, and Keller followed by walking Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.