It’s the opening day of the 2023 MLB season and a pair of NL Central rivals kick off the year against each other in the land of Skyline chili. The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road as they open up a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds Thursday afternoon. Pittsburgh finished the 2022 season tied for fourth in the NL Central with a 62-100 record, finishing 31 games behind the Cardinals for the top spot in the division. Cincinnati finished 2022 tied for fourth in the NL Central with a 62-100 record, 31 games behind St. Louis for the division lead. Last season, the Pirates owned a 12-7 advantage in the season series, including a three-game sweep at home in the most recent series September 26-28, 2022.
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Pittsburgh stumbled through another disappointing campaign in 2022 as the penny-pinching ways of owner Robert Nutting saw the team try to cut corners in the payroll department. It was a rough spring for the Bucs, who finished 9-18 and posted the second-worst record in the Grapefruit League. The Pirates hope to improve this season after losing 101 and 100 games, respectively, in the last two seasons. Pittsburgh actually spent some money in free agency, signing several veterans to one-year deals. Pitchers Rich Hill, Vince Velasquez and Jarlin Garcia are all expected to bolster the staff. The team signed first baseman Carlos Santana along with outfielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher Austin Hedges to try and add some credibility to a weak lineup. Ji-Man Choi and Connor Joe are additional pieces that were acquired via trade.
Mitch Keller gets the call to make the Opening Day start for the Pirates as he t ries to build off the second half of last season. He made 31 appearances, 29 starts, for the team last season, going 5-12 with a 3.91 ERA, a 1.396 WHIP, 60 walks and 138 strikeouts over 159 innings of work in 2022. In the second half of the season in 2022, Keller posted a 3.09 ERA, a 1.389 WHIP, 26 walks and 65 strikeouts over 70 innings in 13 starts, though that workload yielded just a 2-5 record. Keller makes his 12th career start against the Reds in this contest hoping to have better results against a division rival. He is just 1-4 with a 6.80 ERA, a 1.776 WHIP, 28 walks and 44 strikeouts over 49 innings of work against them in those outings. Keller is 1-2 with a dismal 8.18 ERA, a 2.091 WHIP, 17 walks and 20 strikeouts over 22 innings of action in his five career starts at the Great American Ball Park.
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