Mitch Keller wasn’t watching the clock, but he was ready to warm up the minute it was determined the rain delay that interrupted the fifth inning would allow him to ample time to return to the mound.
After a 30-minute break, the Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star right-hander continued a strong start by recording five more outs to polish off another quality start amid a masterful month of May.
Keller held the Atlanta Braves to one run over 6 2/3 innings, saving wear and tear on a bullpen that put the finishing touches on a 4-1 win Saturday afternoon before 31,459 at PNC Park. The Pirates (25-28) will attempt to clinch a sweep of the three-game series at 1:35 p.m. Sunday.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton called Keller’s ability to weather the storms — before and during play — the story of the game.
“The fact that he was able to come back out and finish it and go through, again, probably one of the best offenses in baseball,” Shelton said, “it was very impressive.”
Keller (6-3) stretched his streak of pitching at least five innings to 42 consecutive starts with another strong performance. He allowed six hits without a walk and recorded four strikeouts while throwing 62 of his 88 pitches for strikes to complete his sixth quality start.
“You just have to stay locked in. Whatever it takes,” Keller said. “The hardest one is the mid-game delay. Before the game, that’s fine, whatever. You can still have your routine. Just I’ve never done that before. Just trying to stay hot. Going to warm up again is crazy, but it is what it is. You’ve got to find a way.”
After posting a 5.18 ERA over his first seven starts, Keller has allowed only four runs and has a 1.30 ERA in May.
He tossed his second career complete game May 6 against the Los Angeles Angels, threw six shutout innings in an 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on May 13 and went six innings in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 19.
