PITTSBURGH — Edward Olivares hit his first career grand slam and Mitch Keller pitched a five-hitter to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
Olivares’ slam came off Tyler Anderson in the third inning to break a scoreless tie as the Pirates went on to their third consecutive victory following a five-game losing streak. The Angels lost for the 14th time in 17 games.
The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the third as Andrew McCutchen and Ke’Bryan Hayes sandwiched walks around Bryan Reynolds’ double. One out later, Olivares hit a 424-foot drive into the left-field bleachers.
“It was a dream come true,” Olivares said. “Coming in a game where Mitch pitched so well and we had a good defensive game, it felt good to put some runs up on the scoreboard.”
Keller (3-3) allowed only one run on Zach Neto’s solo shot in the fifth inning and threw 109 pitches in his second career complete game. He struck out five and walked one while getting 14 outs on ground balls in a game that lasted just 1:55.
“I think that’s the best we’ve seen his pitch mix this year,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He had a good mix a couple of times last year, but this was the best we’ve seen him maintain it throughout the game. He got outs early in counts and that’s why he was able to stay out there (for the ninth inning) because he was efficient.”
The complete game came nearly one year after Keller went nine innings to beat the Colorado Rockies last May 8.
“I am super grateful that (Shelton) and (pitching coach) Oscar (Marin) let me go back out there for the ninth inning,” Keller said. “I was feeling good. It was nice for them to still have the trust in me. It was still a 4-1 game, a close game, so having them to have the trust in me to finish it off was awesome.
Keller had surrendered 11 runs and 16 hits over his previous three starts.
Olivares’ grand slam accounted for all the runs scored off Anderson (2-4) in 6 1/3 innings but the left-hander lost his fourth straight decision. Anderson allowed six hits while striking out five and walking three.
Angels manager Ron Washington felt the turning point came an inning after the slam when Nolan Schanuel was thrown out at home when he tried to score from first base on Mickey Moniak’s double with none out.
“They just scored four runs and we’ve got to be sure we score that run, if not then we have two runners in scoring position with no outs and our big hitters coming out,” Washington said. “(Anderson) deserved better than that. Our starting pitching is really starting to come around and we need to support them by not taking ourselves out of innings.”
Olivares also doubled and he and Reynolds both had two hits for the Pirates.
Moniak had two hits for the Angels.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: 2B Luis Rengifo (illness) was scratched from the lineup and missed a third straight game. ... C Logan O’Hoppe (bruised right hand) returned to action after missing one game. ... RHP Sam Bachman (right shoulder surgery) threw off a mound on Tuesday. ... 1B Evan White (left hip surgery) began a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League.
Pirates: LHP Marco Gonzales (strained left forearm) will not need surgery but there is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
Angels LHP Patrick Sandoval (1-5, 5.91) is scheduled to face Pirates RHP Quinn Priester (0-0, 3.31) on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series. Sandoval has lost his last three starts while allowing 13 runs in 14 2/3 innings.
