Edward Olivares smashed his first-ever grand slam, and Mitch Keller tossed a complete game, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
Olivares’ grand slam, launched off Tyler Anderson in the third inning, broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Pirates to their third consecutive victory after a five-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Angels suffered their 14th loss in 17 games.
The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the third inning, with walks to Andrew McCutchen and Ke’Bryan Hayes surrounding Bryan Reynolds’ double. Then, Olivares stepped up and hammered a 424-foot shot into the left-field bleachers.
“It was like a dream come true,” Olivares expressed. “It felt great to contribute runs to the scoreboard, especially in a game where Mitch pitched so well and we had a solid defense.”
Keller (3-3) conceded just one run, a solo homer to Zach Neto in the fifth inning, and threw 109 pitches in his second career complete game. He struck out five and issued only one walk, inducing 14 ground ball outs in a game that lasted a brisk 1:55.
“I believe that’s the best we’ve seen his pitch mix this season,” commented Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “He maintained a strong mix throughout the game, getting outs early in counts, which allowed him to stay out there for the ninth inning due to his efficiency.”
Keller’s complete game occurred almost a year after he pitched nine innings against the Colorado Rockies last May 8. “I’m thankful that (Shelton) and (pitching coach) Oscar (Marin) allowed me to pitch the ninth inning,” Keller stated.
“I was feeling strong. It was great for them to still have confidence in me. The score was still 4-1, a tight game, so it was fantastic that they trusted me to finish it off.”
Keller had struggled in his previous three starts, allowing 11 runs and 16 hits. Olivares’ grand slam marked all the runs against Anderson (2-4) in 6 1/3 innings, but the left-hander suffered his fourth consecutive loss. Anderson yielded six hits, striking out five and issuing three walks.
Angels manager Ron Washington believed the game’s turning point occurred in the inning following the grand slam when Nolan Schanuel was thrown out at home attempting to score from first base on Mickey Moniak’s double with no outs.
“They just scored four runs and we need to make sure we score that run. If not, then we would have had two runners in scoring position with no outs and our key hitters coming up,” Washington remarked.
“(Anderson) deserved better than that. Our starting pitching is starting to come around, and we need to support them by not taking ourselves out of innings.”
