Mitch Keller Makes Feelings Clear On Frustrating Dodgers Outing originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller wasn’t pleased with his outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
Pittsburgh sent Keller to the mound in the rubber match, as the Pirates looked to win the series at home against the reigning back-to-back World Series champions. However, Keller struggles continued, as he entered Thursday’s start with a 7.01 ERA in his prior seven starts.
Against the Dodgers, Keller allowed five runs on seven hits over four innings in the Pirates 8-6 loss. After the outing, Keller felt like he wasn’t executing his pitches and was frustrated with his start.
“Obviously [I’m] not executing,” Keller said postgame on Thursday. “Walking people’s not helping me. Just got to be better. Got to fill it up more, attack the hitters and just execute when I’ve got them in two strikes. …
“Just didn’t execute. Against a good team like this, you’ve got to execute and throw strikes and limit the free passes. I didn’t do that tonight. That’s the end result.”
Keller’s ERA for the season rose to 5.14, but despite his recent struggles, Pirates manager Don Kelly has full confidence that the veteran will be able to get back on track.
“He has done it,” Kelly said. “He’s been a really good pitcher for us. He’s gonna get out of this. We need to find a way.”
With the loss, the Pirates fell to 35-34 and are one game out of a Wild Card spot.
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