PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller pitched six scoreless innings to win his sixth straight start, Oneil Cruz homered for the second straight game and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Friday.
Keller (8-3) had seven hits and struck out eight, with two walks. He also pitched at least five innings for the 44th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the major leagues.
During that streak, Keller has allowed five runs in 39 2/3 innings with a 1.13 ERA.
Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman and David Bednar each pitched one inning in relief to finish an eight-hit game. Bednar earned his 13th save in 16 chances and the Pirates earned their third shutout of the season and won for the third time in four games.
Joe Ryan (4-5) allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking two in the Twins’ fourth straight loss.
For the Twins, Puerto Ricans Carlos Correa 3-2, Luis Miranda 3-2, Willi Castro 3-0. Dominican Carlos Santana 4-0.
For the Pirates, Dominican Oneil Cruz was 2-1 with one run scored and one RBI. The Venezuelan 2-0. Cuban Yasmani Grandal 3-0.
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