Behind Mitch Keller, Pirates chase series win vs. Rockies

Paul Skenes is a tough act to follow, but Mitch Keller has been up to the challenge of late.

Keller will try to keep the Pirates rolling when they host the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night in the middle contest of a three-game series in Pittsburgh.

Keller (4-1, 2.87 ERA), a right-hander, will oppose Rockies left-hander Jose Quintana (1-2, 3.90) one day after Skenes flirted with a no-hitter for the second consecutive start.

Skenes is the first Pirates pitcher to strike out the side three times in a game. The only pitcher to do so four times was the former Chicago Cubs' ace Kerry Wood on May 6, 1998 during his 20-strikeout game against the Houston Astros.

Skenes made his second consecutive start of eight shutout innings and only two hits allowed in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win Tuesday. His ERA has gone from 67.50 after his season-opening disastrous start against the New York Mets to 1.98. His career ERA is 1.97.

"My first pitch in the eighth was 93 (mph) and I told (Pirates manager Don Kelly), maybe I shouldn't have come back out," Skenes said with a grin after the game. "It was a great game all around."

While Keller hasn't put up the same eye-popping numbers as Skenes, he's been effective and doing something that he didn't do a lot of last season: record wins.

Keller followed Skenes' previous gem by allowing two runs on four hits and struck out four in six innings last Thursday in a 4-2 win at Arizona. Keller has won three of his past four starts and the Pirates are 4-0 during that span.

Keller, who is 3-1 with a 1.91 career ERA in five appearances (four starts) against Colorado, didn't have four wins last season until July 22.

Quintana has been solid in his past three starts, although wins have eluded him in his past two. He settled for a no-decision last Thursday against the Mets despite allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Quintana is 6-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 16 career starts against Pittsburgh.

Colorado is hoping to avoid a prolonged losing streak after dropping its last three games. The Rockies have shown some improvement compared to last year's abysmal 7-33 start. But chatter is growing about whether the club has improved enough in Warren Schaeffer's second season as manager.

Although Mickey Moniak continues to hit well, many others have struggled.

"These are the big leagues. Every night's a test. Every night, it's a competition," Schaeffer said this week. "Every day is a test for these guys, for sure, but we're always looking for progress. We're always looking to instill things that we believe this culture is built around, and that's steady progress on a consistent basis."

The Rockies reinstated Jimmy Herget from the bereavement/family emergency list and optioned fellow pitcher Tanner Gordon to Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Pirates placed Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list and recalled Endy Rodriguez from Triple-A Indianapolis. They also optioned pitcher Cam Sanders to Triple-A and recalled Brandan Bidois.