Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller delivers during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Pittsburgh, on Thursday. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller struck out 10, matching his career high, in six innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday to win the three-game series.
Keller (3-0) gave up two runs on five hits, getting out of a third-inning jam with runners on first and third and one out by striking out James Outman and forcing David Peralta to ground out. The right-hander also had 10 strikeouts in six innings last Aug. 30 in a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Peralta scored two runs with a two-out single in the first. Keller responded by striking out the side an inning later.
The Pirates have won nine of 10, pushing their hot start to 18-8.
Julio Urías (3-3) allowed six runs on seven hits for the Dodgers, who lost the last two of the three-game series after coming back from down five for an 8-7 win Tuesday.
MARLINS 5, BRAVES 4: Garrett Cooper came through with a two-out, two-run double that capped a stunning five-run ninth inning as Miami avoided a sweep with win at Atlanta Braves in a game delayed more than three hours by inclement weather.
Kyle Wright and four relievers held Miami scoreless until the ninth, but the Marlins overcame a 4-0 deficit against Braves closer A.J. Minter.
Yuli Gurriel, Avisall Garcia and Jazz Chisholm had run-scoring singles to knock out Minter (1-3), who retired only two of the seven hitters he faced. Jesse Chavez came in with two runners aboard to face Cooper, who was hitless in four at-bats and mired in a .154 (6 for 39) slump. Cooper was miffed when a 2-1 pitch was called a strike but he quickly shook it off. Chavez went with a sinker, looking to end the game, but Cooper drove it the opposite way to right-center for a double that brought home the tying and winning runs.
CARDINALS 6, GIANTS 0: Alec Burleson and Paul DeJong homered, Miles Mikolas pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and St. Louis won at San Francisco to avoid a four-game sweep.
Mikolas (1-1) scattered four hits and two walks, striking out six to end the Giants’ five-game winning streak.
CUBS 5, PADRES 2: Eric Hosmer and Nelson Velázquez hit back-to-back homers and Dansby Swanson added his first of the season as Chicago beat visiting San Diego.
Manny Machado homered for the Padres, who had won five of seven.
INTERLEAGUE
PHILLIES 1, MARINERS 0: Kody Clemens ripped an RBI single to right, Matt Strahm pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, and Philadelphia moved to .500 for the first time this season by beating visiting Seattle.
Strahm (2-2) and four relievers helped get the Phillies to 13-13 as they head out for a six-game trip. The Phillies started 0-4 and 5-10 but have won 8 of 11 to straighten out their season.
Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for his third save and 397th of his career, putting him on the brink of becoming the seventh reliever to ever record 400.
NOTES
AWARD: Joe Torre has won the third Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.
A star player during 18 major league seasons and longtime manager for the New York Yankees and four other teams, Torre was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014. He was honored with an annual distinction that recognizes a living individual “who has made significant contributions to the game.”
Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully last year.
OBIT: Dick Groat, a two-sport star who went from All-American guard in basketball to a brief stint in the NBA to ultimately an All-Star shortstop and the 1960 National League MVP while playing baseball for his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates, died Thursday. He was 92.
Groat’s family said in a statement that he died at UMPC Presbyterian Hospital from complications of a stroke.
Groat, who was from the Swissvale neighborhood just east of Pittsburgh’s downtown, starred at Duke in basketball and baseball in the early 1950s, earning All-American honors in both. His No. 10 jersey hangs in Cameron Indoor Stadium; the program retired his number following the end of his senior season in 1952.
Groat attempted to play both baseball and basketball professionally, signing with the Pirates and being drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons of the then-fledgling NBA within weeks of each other in 1952.
Long before Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders made two-way playing en vogue in the 1980s and ’90s, Groat was regularly shuttling from Durham, North Carolina, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the winter of 1952-53 so he could split time between his classes at Duke — where he was finishing his degree after his eligibility expired — and the Pistons.
While basketball was Groat’s sport of choice, a stint in the military and an ultimatum from Pirates GM Branch Rickey redirected the arc of Groat’s athletic career.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.