Pirates' Mitch Keller Dominates in Sweep of Cardinals

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller put in one of his best performances of the season in a 5-0 shutout victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.

The Pirates complete the sweep of the Cardinals, as they also won 7-0 on June 30 and 1-0 on July 1, shutting out their rival in all three games.

This marks the first time the Pirates have posted three straight shutouts since June 14-16, 2015, a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies and then 11-0 and 3-0 wins over the Chicago White Sox at home.

It is the second straight sweep of the Pirates, doing so vs. the New York Mets, June 27-29. It is the first time the Pirates have gotten back-to-back sweeps since April 17-19 vs. the Colorado Rockies on the road and April 20-23 vs. the Cincinnati Reds.

Keller allowed a leadoff double to Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan in the top of the first inning. He struckout shortstop Masyn Winn, but then walked first baseman Alec Burleson, putting two runners on with one out.

Keller forced designated hitter Nolan Gorman into a fielder's choice, with Burleson out at second base, but then hit left fielder Lars Nootbaar, loading the bases for the Cardinals.

He left the inning unscathed, as he forced Cardinals third baseman Thomas Saggesse into a groundout.

Keller allowed another leaoff double in the top of the second inning, this time to St. Louis designated hitter José Fermín.

He still got out of the inning without allowing a run, forcing Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés to fly out, center fielder Victor Scott II to ground out, moving Fermín to third base and then Donovan to fly out as well.

Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz leadoff the bottom of the second inning with a double off of Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Sonny Gray.

Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes struckout, but Cruz would steal third base, as no Cardinals player was on the base.

Left fielder Tommy Pham then came through with a single, scoring Cruz and giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead, continuing his great string of recent performances.

Keller opened up the top of the third inning by striking out Winn, but allowed another double to Burleson, giving the Cardinals another scoring opportunity.

He struckout Gorman for the second out, but Nootbaar made it to first base on a single after Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales couldn't come up with the fast hit ground ball.

Saggesse hit a ball that almost went for an RBI-single, but Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa made an incredible play, getting down and throwing him out to end the inning.