Not feeling his slider, Keller shows ability to adjust on the fly

ST. LOUIS -- Mitch Keller continues to adapt as the game sees fit.

Keller’s final line in the Pirates’ 7-5 loss to the Cardinals on Monday at Busch Stadium was solid but doesn’t jump off the page: 5 1/3 innings, two runs, seven hits, one walk, two strikeouts. The most notable wrinkle weren’t the results, but pitch selection, namely the career-high 23 curveballs that Keller threw. On a night where Keller’s slider, by his own admission, was ineffective, Keller dug into his bag for a fallback option.

“It’s huge just to be able to lean on something like that,” Keller said. “If I didn’t have my curveballs, who knows. I’m probably out in the third just because I’m working off the sinker and a fastball and a changeup.”

Of the 23 curveballs that Keller threw, he generated eight called strikes and whiffs, the second-most he has had in a single outing. The increased curveball usage wasn’t just due to the pitch’s effectiveness, but due to Keller’s lack of feel with the slider. Keller assessed that he only threw two or three good sliders all evening. With the slider down, Keller employed a simple game plan: next pitch up.

“Right off the bat, I didn’t have a good feel for my slider like I did last game,” Keller said. “So, we had to find a way to throw another spin pitch for a strike or something that’s going to get some swing-and-miss.”

Keller said there can be a bit of a carryover effect with a night like tonight as well. Given the curveball’s effectiveness against the Cardinals, Keller considered the possibility of incorporating the pitch more moving forward.

“It’s all dependent on the lineup too,” Keller said. “They have like four, five lefties in the lineup so curveballs played pretty good. But just knowing that pitch is really good, and I can get some outs and I can get some strikeouts with it. Definitely something to look into.”

For Keller, that willingness to take what the game gives him has been the theme of this season.

Last month, in his first Major League relief outing, Keller unveiled a sinker. The pitch has increasingly become a more prominent part of Keller’s repertoire, culminating in Keller throwing a career-high 42 sinkers in his last outing against the Tigers. Against the Cardinals, Keller, again, threw the sinker more than any other pitch.

The introduction, and subsequent usage, of the sinker has resulted in Keller shying away from the fastball. In his first seven starts, Keller’s fastball accounted for 57.1 percent of his pitches. Since introducing the sinker, Keller’s fastball usage has cratered to 23.7 percent. Instead of being a primary pitch, the fastball is now more game-dependent. In his last outing, Keller threw a career-low seven fastballs. On Monday, he threw 25 heaters.

Regardless of whether it’s been the fastball or sinker, there’s also been the uptick in velocity that Keller showcased in Spring Training.

Last season, Keller’s average fastball clocked in at 93.8 mph. Entering play, Keller’s average fastball clocked in at 96.1 mph (an average Keller sinker is 95.0 mph as well). With all of these new variables to account for, opponents continue to be left guessing which version of Keller they’re going to see.

In the past several weeks, regardless of how his repertoire looks on a given night, the results are starting to be more promising.

In his past five outings, two being relief appearances, Keller has a 2.82 ERA across 22 1/3 innings. Keller’s strikeout-to-walk ratio in these appearances (20 strikeouts to 11 walks) does leave some to be desired. The right-hander can’t consistently rely on getting out of jams as he often did against the Cardinals. For Keller, though, it’s a start.

Halfway through June, Keller hasn’t quite had the breakout that many anticipated. With another solid start in the books, Keller appears to slowly be heading in the right direction.