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Mitch Keller was once the Pirates top prospect and one of the MLB's top pitching prospects, but his MLB career thus far has cooled some of those expectations. Injuries have stunted his development as he always seems to be overcoming something. Keller, once again, took the mound on Tuesday night - trying to build upon what has been some rather encouraging outtings as of late.

Keller had another strong performance - going five innings, yielding 2 runs on six hits, striking out seven and walking two. The loss, his fifth of the season, is going to look bad against only one win, but being as that this season is lost, this about improvement for Keller. His season has literally been up-and-down - alternating strong and disappointing starts predictably throughout the year. His prior start, against the Giants on 9/10, was one of those disappointments, but true to form he bounced back tonight. Keller should have two more starts this season - hopefully stringing together three strong outtings to go into the offseason with something to build upon. 

His next start is expected to be 9/22 against the Brewers. He should also start one of the final two games of the season against the Reds in Pittsburgh.

The lineup tonight was a diluted version of the one we've seen for most of the season. It was full of guys who could make contact, but lacked pop. The Pirates managed a scattered eight hits on the night. Only one of those hits was for extra bases - a double by Adam Frazier. The Bucs failed to score a run.

Once Keller hit the showers, the Mariners rocked Pirate relievers Michael Feliz and Williams Jerez for two runs a piece in two innings. The final score was 6-0.

The evening was, of course, clouded by the news from earlier in the day that Pirate all-star, Felipe Vazquez was arrested on child sex charges. The clubhouse was reported to be somber as many players dealt with the awful news regarding someone many of them considered a friend.

The Pirates continue to host the Mariners tomorrow at 7:05 PM as Pirate rookie Dario Agrazal takes the mound against fellow rookie, Justin Dunn. Dunn will be making his second career start.