BRADENTON, Fla. — Mitch Keller has a reputation for his ever-expanding repertoire, but the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander’s newest pitch is simply an old offering with a twist.
Keller unveiled a changeup with a new grip in his first Grapefruit League start, tossing two scoreless innings in a 7-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon before 4,912 at LECOM Park.
“He threw the ball really well,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Keller, who had two strikeouts and allowed one hit and one walk. “The ball was coming out of his hand nicely, and the changeup looked really good from the side. It seemed like he felt really good with it, too.”
It was a split-squad home opener for the Pirates, who improved to 3-0 in spring training for the first time since 2019. Bryan Reynolds went 3 for 3 with a double, Jhostynxon Garcia had two hits, including a run-scoring single in the fifth, and Nick Cimillo hit a tying solo home run in the sixth.
Esmerlyn Valdez, the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect per Baseball America, hit a grand slam in the sixth inning in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater. The Pirates got a scare when third baseman Jack Brannigan was removed after being hit in the face by a batted ball. Brannigan was being evaluated by the team’s medical staff.
The Pirates honor Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, the humble hero of the 1960 World Series champions, with a video tribute before their Grapefruit League home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. pic.twitter.com/gUzN7S5DgH
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 22, 2026
Before the national anthem at LECOM, the Pirates played a video tribute to and held a moment of silence for Bill Mazeroski, the Hall of Fame second baseman and 1960 World Series hero who died Friday at age 89. They also had his retired No. 9 and nickname “Maz” stenciled into the grass behind where Brandon Lowe was playing second base.
In his Pirates debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay in a three-team trade in December, Lowe had a good view of Keller’s new-look changeup, which he threw on six of his 26 pitches (17 for strikes).
“I couldn’t tell you it was new,” Lowe said, “because it looked pretty good.”
More important to Keller is that it felt good. He said he changed the grip to get a more consistent feel and shape to the pitch in hopes that it would be more competitive in the strike zone and generate swing and miss.
“Still a learning curve with it,” Keller said, “but feel really good with where it’s at.”
Keller throws seven pitches, leaning most heavily upon his four-seamer, sweeper, slider and sinker. But he also has a curveball and a cutter in his back pocket. Last season, Keller threw an 89.2-mph changeup on 6.9% of his pitches, per Statcast, almost exclusively to left-handed hitters. All six changeups against the Rays were thrown to lefties.
Kelly was impressed with Keller’s ability to add the changeup to his arsenal and mix it with seven sweepers, six sinkers, six four-seamers and a curveball.
“To be able to make that adjustment — and I know he’s really excited about it, and it looked good from the side — there were a couple really good changeups that he threw,” Kelly said.
Rays leadoff batter Raynel Delgado hit Keller’s first-pitch fastball for a sharp single to left field to start the game, but Keller used his sinker to get Justyn Henry-Malloy to ground into a double play on the next pitch.
It wasn’t until the third batter that he threw the changeup, and the first three offerings went for balls as Hunter Feduccia drew a seven-pitch walk.
“It led to a walk,” Keller said, “but I felt like they were really good pitches, really good takes from the batter.”
Keller got Tre’ Morgan to go down swinging at a changeup low and inside to finish the first inning. In the second, Jacob Melton fouled off an 0-2 change before Keller threw another for a ball.
“That was absurd,” Pirates catcher Henry Davis said of Keller’s changeup. “They were almost knuckling to the plate, but the fact that he also threw some in the zone was a really good sign. I’m thrilled with it. It’s an entirely different pitch, really. As he gets more comfortable with it, that’ll dictate how and when it gets used, but I think it’s a good option for him.”
Note: Right-hander Bubba Chandler is expected to start for the Pirates against Ryan Yarbrough and the New York Yankees at 1:05 p.m. Monday at LECOM Park.
