Mitch Keller takes loss after quality start

Not good. Keller’s ERA in his last seven starts is now 6.69 and he’s carrying a 1.63 WHIP with it. Keller was yanked after 72 pitches, and managed just five whiffs on 32 swings. Perhaps the rest of an All-Star break will help him rediscover the inning-eating form of the past two seasons.

Keller gave up a solo homer to Luis Garcia Jr. with one out in the bottom of the first inning to put the Nationals up 1-0. It would be the only run Keller would allow in the frame, but the Nationals would continue to jump all over him in the ensuing innings. Keller surrendered another solo homer to Daylen Lile in the second inning and gave up a two-run homer to José Tena in the second inning, as the Nationals put on an early power surge against the righty. Keller would make it through six innings before being pulled, but his struggles looked all too familiar in this one. He has now allowed five earned runs or more in four of his last seven outings, and has seen his ERA balloon to 5.02 after ending May with a 4.35 ERA. He faces another tough matchup in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Braves.

Keller held the Reds scoreless through three, then gave up two runs, one earned, in the fourth on an error and two hits. He gave up two more runs in the fifth on a walk and two hits. Keller gave the Pirates one more scoreless frame, ending his day after six with four strikeouts. The 30-year-old right-hander will take a 4.87 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 73/33 K/BB ratio across 94 1/3 innings into a road start against the Nationals on Friday.

Keller loaded the bases on three walks in the first inning before Zack Gelof cleared them all with a base hit. Lawrence Butler followed with a double to make it a four-run first inning for the A’s. Keller settled in to pitch into the sixth before giving up solo homer to Gelof. That would do it for Keller, ending his day with one out in the sixth with seven strikeouts. The 30-year-old right-hander will take a 5.25 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 65/31 K/BB ratio across 82 1/3 innings into a start against the Mariners in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Keller also issued four free passes in the contest while striking out three. After navigating a pair of scoreless innings to start the day, the Dodgers broke through for three runs in the third including a solo homer by Shohei Ohtani then tacked on another pair in the fourth inning. Keller generated four swings and misses on 98 pitches on the night, posting a miserable CSW of only 18 percent. He’ll try to put this one behind him and bounce back as he carries a 5.14 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 58/27 K/BB ratio (77 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Athletics in West Sacramento. Given how poorly he has pitched over his last three starts, fantasy managers should avoid that one at all costs.

Keller narrowly avoided trouble in the first inning after allowing two batters to reach base, but didn’t enjoy the same fortunes in the second inning. After putting two men on again in the inning, Keller would allow an RBI single to Ronald Acuña to give the Braves their first run of the night. Keller would surrender a two-run homer to Mauricio Dubón in the third inning and was lit up for three more runs in the fifth before being pulled with two outs. Keller is in a bit of a funk after allowing 13 earned runs over his last 8 2/3 innings. Things won’t get any easier for him in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Dodgers.

Keller gave up a run on two hits in the second inning. The Twins followed with a second run on two more hits in the third. Keller got into more trouble in the fourth, giving up five runs to blow a five-run lead. The fourth inning would be his last, ending his day at 77 pitches. He struck out five. The 30-year-old right-hander will take a 4.35 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 51/20 K/BB ratio across 68 1/3 innings into a start against the Braves in Atlanta on Friday.

Keller allowed just four hits on the afternoon while issuing three free passes. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single off the bat of Ernie Clement in the fourth inning. He generated 11 swings and misses on 101 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 27 percent. Now 5-2 on the season, the 30-year-old righty will carry a 3.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 46/19 K/BB ratio (64 1/3 innings) into Friday’s showdown against the Twins.

He fanned three. Keller has kept it together from an ERA perspective this year, but that’s mostly because he’s allowed only four homers while being a modest flyball pitcher with a weak strikeout rate. It’s not going to last, even if he does pitch half of his games in pitcher friendly ballpark. His 18 percent strikeout rate this year is down from a career mark of 22 percent, and his velocity is down about two mph from his best season in 2022. He just doesn’t figure to be very good going forward. His next start is slated for Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Keller struck out three and walked just one. He was perfect through four before a six-run outburst in the fifth, including a three-run homer off the bat of Mickey Moniak. The 30-year-old righty entered this start with a 2.87 ERA, but all his estimators suggested nothing much had changed. His next start is scheduled to come on the road in St. Louis.