Mitch Keller, Brandon Lowe lead Pirates to series-clinching win against Diamondbacks

PHOENIX - Mitch Keller didn't have his command early. Joey Bart helped him find it.

Keller (4-1) described his first three innings as "pretty sporadic," but some "positivity" from his catcher helped Keller throw six strong innings and lead the Pirates to a 4-2 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon at Chase Field.

Bart, who also went 2 for 4 with a solo homer, said he just wanted to challenge Keller. Whatever he said, it worked.

"I told him, ‘Let's go. Let's do better.' In a nice way," Bart said. "I just kind of challenged him a little bit. That relationship I've built with him over time. I kind of understand how to go at him. ... It worked, so it's good."

With the win, the Pirates took two of three from Arizona and have now won four consecutive road series against National League opponents for the first time since 2015. They also responded to their 9-0 loss on Tuesday with two consecutive wins, aided by quality starts from Paul Skenes and Keller.

"I've been saying it all year, we have all the fight in the world on this team," Keller said. "One game isn't going to knock us down. ... Same mentality, today's a new day and nobody cares what happened yesterday. Let's win today."

Just as he did on Wednesday, Brandon Lowe started Thursday's game with a solo homer just two batters in. He now has 10 homers, two more than Pirate second basemen had in all of 2025, and finished the day 3 for 5 with two singles.

But the lead didn't last too long. Keller fell behind on eight of the first 13 batters he faced, and after a first-inning RBI single from Adrian Del Castillo and a solo homer in the third from Corbin Carroll, the Pirates trailed, 2-1. So in-between innings, Bart came to Keller with what Keller phrased as "pumping me up."

"Honestly, that's kinda what I needed," Keller said. "... Just the positivity he was bringing in between innings, it allowed me to just go out there and have some quick innings."

And Keller did find his command, retiring nine consecutive batters from the fourth through the sixth. He was pulled after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh, finishing the day with a quality start of six-plus innings, two runs on four hits and two walks, and four strikeouts on just 84 pitches.

While Keller started to cruise, the Pirates challenged Arizona starter Zac Gallen. Gallen had largely dominated after Lowe's homer, but with two outs in the fifth, the Pirates strung together four consecutive baserunners to take the lead. Lowe started it with a single, followed by a Bryan Reynolds walk, then RBI singles from Ryan O'Hearn and Spencer Horwitz.

"I was just trying to pass the baton, get the next guy to the plate," Lowe said. "I know the two guys behind me in B-Rey and O'Hearn, they do some pretty good things when guys are on base. If I can be on for them, that's a pretty big plus."

Manager Don Kelly used the same line, saying that passing the baton was how the Pirates need to play.

"When we're going well offensively, we're able to slow everything down, go gap to gap, pass the baton," Kelly said. "We've talked about that. That timely hitting is a big key for us as we go through the rest of the season."

It was over when…

… Isaac Mattson got the Pirates out of a jam in the eighth. Mason Montgomery started the inning and walked Geraldo Perdomo and allowed a Carroll single. Mattson came in to face pinch-hitting Nolan Arenado and struck him out.

On the mound

The Pirates somewhat shifted their bullpen usage in the game. Kelly turned to Dennis Santana against the bottom of the Diamondbacks order after Keller in the seventh, then used Montgomery for the first time in a week in the eighth. Soto pitched the ninth for the second consecutive game.

Santana, who allowed multiple runs in two of three games, quickly induced a double play in the seventh. After a walk, he got James McCann to ground out to Jared Triolo at third.

"It just speaks to who they are, as people, as teammates," said Kelly, of the Pirate bullpen's flexibility. "I mean, Dennis Santana, coming in in a big situation there, hasn't pitched in the seventh in a while, gets a huge double play, able to get out of that inning. And then Monty and Mattson with the eighth, and Soto finishing the game off there in the ninth. Just a great job."

At the plate

The Pirates left seven on base, but did a strong job stringing together hits in the fifth against Gallen. They finished with four runs on seven hits.

Most valuable player

Lowe continues to look like an extremely solid addition to the Pirates' lineup. After his three-hit day, which includes a knock against lefty Brandyn Garcia, he has a .941 OPS, a top-20 mark in baseball.

Up next

The Pirates head to San Francisco for a three-game set against the Giants, who enter with a majors-worst 14-23 record. Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2, 4.76 ERA) will start for the Pirates against Giants left-hander Robbie Ray (2-4, 2.95). The game, which starts at 10:15 p.m. EST, will be televised locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh, nationally on MLB Network, and broadcast on the radio on 93.7 The Fan.

Injury notes

Prior to the game, the Pirates added right-hander Cam Sanders from the taxi squad and placed right-hander Chris Devenski on the 15-day injured list with an undisclosed illness. Devenski had been suspended for the prior two games after throwing at Reds rookie Sal Stewart.

Sanders, who arrived in Arizona on Wednesday, has a 12.00 ERA in three innings. It's his third time being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis this season.

Additionally, Jake Mangum was originally scheduled to start Thursday, but he was scratched minutes before first pitch with right hamstring tightness. Billy Cook started in his place. Triolo started over Nick Gonzales, who was hit in the hand late in Wednesday's game, but Kelly said postgame that Gonzales was fine.

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