Morning Rundown: Mitch Keller breaks Pirates single season strikeout for righties

Passes AJ Burnett's former record of 209 in a season

Photo Credit: WTM

If you were to go back just a couple of years, I’m not sure anyone would have guessed that the path Mitch Keller was on would lead him to the moment he found himself at Tuesday night.

After striking out Nick Castellanos to end the fifth inning, Keller passed AJ Burnett for the single season strikeout record among right-handed pitchers in franchise history.

It wasn’t too long ago where there was a graphic on screen during a broadcast that showed Keller ranking as the worst pitcher in several categories, now not only is he an All-Star, but also has more strikeouts than any other right-handed pitchers in franchise history.

Tuesday was Keller’s 32nd start, and in that time he has posted a 4.21 ERA with 13 wins and those 210 strikeouts to 55 walks in 194.1 innings pitched.

He’s also in line to make the start on the final game of the season, which would give him the opportunity to cross the 200 inning threshold.

Alika Williams optioned to Indianapolis

Nick Gonzales rejoined the Pirates for the final weeks worth of games, with Alika Williams being the roster move to make space.

Williams made his major league debut earlier in the season and while he’s played some strong defense, hasn’t been able to hit much.

Pirates sign Anthony Sosa

The Pirates made a splash on the international market, signing Anthony Sosa - nephew of Sammy - to a $100,000 bonus.

A tweet announcing the signing mentions he is a SS/OF, as is the case with a lot of international signings, there isn’t much details on the player himself. There is a few clips on twitter, linked here.