Mitch Keller put a punctuation mark on a strong spring training in his final start, striking out five of the 10 batters he faced in three scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates also got a fourth consecutive scoreless appearances from left-hander Caleb Ferguson, a second straight scoreless inning from David Bednar and a seven-pitch sixth from Dennis Santana in holding Boston scoreless through seven innings.
Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder drove in runs in the eighth as the Red Sox rolled to a 2-1 win over the Pirates in a Grapefruit League game at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. The Pirates scored in the ninth on Will Taylor’s RBI single to drive in Mike Jarvis.
It marked the third time in five starts that Keller didn’t allow a run. He gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in his previous start, a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on March 10. In between, he threw 65 pitches in a live bullpen.
Keller finished the spring with a 1-1 record, 2.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, a .204 batting average against and 13 strikeouts against seven walks in five starts. He allowed only a single by Triston Casas in the second.
Joey Bart went 2 for 4 with a double to extend his on-base streak to a team-best 12 games and improve his batting average to .424. Tommy Pham went 2 for 3 and has reached safely in 13 of his 16 games. Jack Suwinski went 1 for 3 to boost his batting average to .368 (14 for 38) and reached safely in 12 of his 13 games.
Notes: Paul Skenes is scheduled to start against Zach Eflin when the Pirates play host to the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at LECOM Park in Bradenton. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
