Two Pirate legends took the mound in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon, and Mitch Keller bested Gerrit Cole, and the Pirates won game 1 of the doubleheader. Despite Cole looking like an ace most of the afternoon, home runs from Jacob Gonzalez and Nick Gonzales gave the Pirates an early lead. Eventually the unlikely duo of Jared Triolo and Jake Mangum drives in 2 runs in the 10th, and the Pirates secure the win, 5-3. The Pirates are now four games over .500 and have secured a .500 record on this road trip. Watch Doug and I break down the game further here:

Mitch Keller Had His Best Start of the Year

There have been very few outings from Keller this year where I want to see him go deep into the game. Today was a different story, where I was sad to see him pulled after 5 shutout innings. I was disappointed that he left the game after only 75 pitches but understand why Kelly didn’t want him to go a full 6 with his recent struggles. Keller was excellent today; he struck out 6 batters with a 43% whiff rate (15 total whiffs). He gave up 0 runs, and the Yankees really only threatened to score once in his entire outing. The only thing better than a good deadline acquisition is a player you already have becoming a good contributor. With Ashcraft showing some fatigue, and Bubba being a rookie, the Pirates need a good Keller in the worst way. Mitch must build off of this performance and get back on the track that made him the highest-paid pitcher in franchise history.

Mason Montgomery Has Put it Together

Speaking of team needs, the team needs at least 5 reliable bullpen arms going into the playoffs if they want to be serious contenders. Mason Montgomery has had a roller coaster of a year. However, the summer has been kind to him. After today’s 1.1 innings of no runs allowed, he has not given up a run in the month of July and last surrendered a run on June 26th. After having an ERA well over 5, it now sits at 3.79. The Yankees had 0 answers and couldn’t touch his stuff today. Vibes were low when the Yankees tied the game off a 3-run bomb from Ben Rice, but Mason steadied the ship and got the team into extras, where they would eventually win the game. Montgomery has all the makings to be a closer or 8th-inning pitcher for any team. This current trend points to him putting the pieces together.

Stealing Games Like This Is Vital

Gerrit Cole was excellent today. He went 7 innings, struck out 11, generated 21 whiffs, and looked genuinely elite. Ben Rice hit a devastating 3-run homer, and the Yankees bullpen surrendered no runs after 9 innings. Despite this, the Pirates were in the driver’s seat due to 2 home runs from Jacob Gonzalez and Nick Gonzales. Winning despite elite performances from the opposition is how this team separates itself from the Cardinals and Marlins. Too many times has this team dropped winnable games. They must flip the script in the 2nd half of the season to winning games where the offense isn’t always humming and the bullpen is surrendering runs. Securing a minimum of .500 on a road trip against 2 playoff teams is a good start.