Pirates Reveal Starting Pitcher for Home Opener
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates finally make it back home from a road trip to start the 2026 campaign and will have their first series at PNC Park, with the starting pitchers known as well.
Right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller will take the mound for the Pirates in their home opener vs. the Baltimore Orioles on April 3, with first pitch set for 4:12 p.m., in honor of the 412 area code for the Pittsburgh area.
This marks the second straight season that Keller has served as the starting pitcher for the home opener as he did so last year vs. the New York Yankees on April 4, 2025.
Keller struggled massively vs, the Yankees, giving up a season-high seven earned runs over 3.2 innings pitched in the 9-4 defeat.
He makes this his second start of the season, as the dominated in his first one, throwing six scoreless innings vs. the New York Mets on March 28, allowing just three hits and posting three strikeouts over 77 pitches.
It was a no-decision for Keller, as the Pirates lost 4-2 in 11 innings, but it was his 64th quality start since the start of the 2022 season, fourth most amongst National League pitchers.
Keller has also had great success vs. the Orioles in his two career starts against them, posting a 0.69 ERA.
He threw seven scoreless innings and posted a career-high 13 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards on May 14, 2023, giving up just four hits and hitting a batter.
Keller first faced the Orioles on the road on Aug. 5, 2022, where he allowed just one earned run over six innings pitched and ended up taking a loss in the 1-0 defeat.
Who Else Will Pitch for Pirates vs. Orioles
The Pirates have two other right-handed starting pitchers for the Pirates, with Carmen Mlodzinski taking the mound on April 4 and Braxton Ashcraft closing out the series on April 5.
Mlodzinski had success in his first start vs. the Mets in the series finale on March 29, posting a career-high eight strikeouts, He only went 4.1 innings, throwing 85 pitches and gave up two runs, but striking out the top of the Mets' order twice in his outing was impresssive.
The Pirates will want to see Mlodzinski go deeper into games and prove that he can hold a spot in the starting rotation for the long-term.
Ashcraft made his first start vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in the series opener on March 30.
He gave up two runs in the fourth inning, but threw six innings and gave the Pirates a chance, one they did not take in the eventual 2-0 defeat.
Ashcraft posted career-highs of innings pitched and 87 pitches, an encouraging sign that the youngster can maintain a bigger workload going forward in 2026.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.