For more than 40% of Wednesday’s game, it looked like Mitch Keller might be trying to one-up his rotation mate Paul Skenes.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, that’s not how things ended.
After retiring a dozen consecutive hitters to open the game, Keller encountered a bunch of trouble in the fifth, the six-run inning ultimately leading to a 10-4 Pirates loss to the Rockies at PNC Park.
It was uncharacteristic of Keller, who entered the game with a 2.87 ERA and six quality starts in his first eight outings of the 2026 season. But after Colorado’s offense had mostly looked lifeless for the first 13 innings of this series, the Rockies found a spark.
Keller said he didn't change much, though his location wasn't quite as sharp. A three-run homer from outfielder Mickey Moniak gave the Rockies a lead they would not relinquish, snapping a stretch of five consecutive wins for the Pirates (23-20) in the series.
"It’s tough," said Keller, who allowed six earned runs on seven hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. "I just have to try and stop the bleeding as fast as possible. I didn’t do that. That’s the result, a six-spot. Kind of took us out of the game.
"That loss is on me. Everyone else played really well. I played well until that inning. Disaster inning."
It’s hard to imagine a better start for the Pirates in this one, as they held a 3-0 lead after four and Keller was recording outs in metronomic fashion.
The Pirates rebounded from Oneil Cruz’s baserunning mistake – getting doubled off at second following a line drive to left field – with a fantastic play on the bases that netted two runs in the second.
Bases loaded, one out. Brandon Lowe ran through the bag on a potential force out at second and was ruled safe. That caused a minor disruption before Nick Gonzales was caught between third and home.
Gonzales smartly forced an interference call, allowing another run to score after Ryan O’Hearn already made it safely on the failed fielder’s choice. By Gonzales subtlety colliding with pitcher Jose Quintana, he helped give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
"Cruz's out — that was a tough one," Kelly said. "When Bryan hit it, I thought it was going to drop, too. Sometimes when you get a guy with as much power as Bryan has ... it was a broken bat off the end, and [left fielder Jake] McCarthy must have gotten a really good read on that ball to come in and be able to catch it like that.
"Brandon Lowe running through second base, then Nick Gonzales getting in the rundown and getting the obstruction call, I thought they did a really, really good job there."
Reynolds extended the Pirates’ lead to 3-0 in the third by taking a sinker to right. Konnor Griffin scored from second after sprinting out of the box and earning a hustle double.
But once the top of the fifth arrived, the Rockies made an adjustment, primarily by shifting into attack mode against Keller. Third baseman Kyle Karros drove in the first run by lining a slider to left.
Left fielder Jake McCarthy followed by turning on a cutter that was inside and off the plate, his softly hit double to right scoring another. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar tied the game at 3 by lining a middle-away fastball into right field.
The lesson? Probably that it's over, honestly. Keller has been really good this season and had a bad inning. It's not excusing it, but he's still been a net positive for the Pirates.
It'll be natural to question whether Kelly should've pulled Keller after allowing five consecutive hits, although I've had a bigger issue with the Pirates manager quick-hooking pitchers than I do with him leaving them in to fight their own battles. Especially when it involves someone who has pitched as well as Keller.
Moniak, who ruined Paul Skenes’ no-hit bid on Tuesday, delivered what was essentially the knockout blow with his three-run homer on a 2-2 sweeper Keller left up in the zone. That pushed the Rockies in front, 6-3.
It was a weird, abrupt turn for Keller, who had been 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five career game against the Rockies. Over four innings, he cruised. But the Rockies sent nine men to the plate in the fifth and scored a half-dozen runs.
Kelly pulled Keller after a two-out walk in the sixth, which Evan Sisk eventually stranded.
The six earned runs Keller allowed qualified as a season-high. In fact, it equaled the number of earned runs Keller allowed over his past three starts combined, when he worked a total of 18 innings.
"Bad inning. Gotta move past it," Keller said. "Cutter was working really well. Four-seam was working well. Slider was good, too. They probably just made the adjustment, and I didn’t."
Colorado would add four runs off Brandan Bidois and Justin Lawrence late. O'Hearn drove in the other Pirates run with a solo homer.
Bidois debuts
Bidois became the first Australian-born player to appear in an MLB game for the Pirates when he entered the game in the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed a double to Moniak, who was picked off by Henry Davis at third.
Two batters later, first baseman TJ Rumfield took Bidois deep to right on a 2-2 fastball Bidois left over the heart of the plate, extending the Rockies’ advantage to 7-4.
"That first one is never easy," Bidois said. "Your heart's racing. Everything's going a million miles an hour, but just being able to slow the game down, I think that's going to be the key for the next one."
O’Hearn homers
O’Hearn had been scuffling since hitting his last home run on April 28 against the Cardinals, batting .191 with a .468 OPS in 12 games. But on Wednesday he finished with two hits, including a solo shot to open the sixth.
The Pirates right fielder turned on a first-pitch, inside fastball and homered to right-center field for his sixth of the season to cut Colorado’s lead down to 6-4.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.