Kansas City Royals win game but lose starting pitcher Brad Keller to injury
First, it looked like Brad Keller might not make it through the first inning. Then it seemed the Kansas City Royals starting pitcher might’ve righted the ship. Then his night ended abruptly.
Keller left Thursday night’s series-opening 6-4 road win over the Seattle Mariners in the middle of the fifth inning after he gave up a solo home run to Kyle Seager and reached for his upper arm after tossing the pitch.
Royals manager Mike Matheny and head athletic trainer Nick Kenney came to the mound, and Keller walked off the field with Kenney. The Royals announced during the game that Keller left because of “posterior right shoulder discomfort.”
“It was kind of just pain in the back of my shoulder every time I threw a pitch right at release, at extension,” Keller said. “It was just a pain that wasn’t going away.”
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Keller made his 26th start of the season and 83rd of his career. He has pitched 133 2/3 innings this season.
“I’ve never really been in this situation before,” Keller said. “I don’t really know how it all works, but, obviously, I want to get back out there as quick as I can. That’s my goal. I don’t know the severity of it. I just know sitting right here right now, it’s pretty sore, pretty tight.”
Keller threw 36 pitches in a first inning that included three walks, a double and an infield single and a visit from his pitching coach Cal Eldred.
Keller’s defense helped him limit the Mariners to one run through all that mess. Shortstop Nicky Lopez made a diving stop to get a force out at second base to wipe out the lead runner.
Then when Keller gave up Kyle Seager’s line-drive double to the wall in center field with one out and one on, the relay throw from center fielder Michael A. Taylor to Lopez to catcher Salvador Perez cut down the runner, Mitch Haniger, in an attempt to score from first base. That gave Keller two outs despite his inability to command pitches in the inning.
Following his second walk of the inning, Keller got a soft roller to second base that could’ve got him out of the inning without a run scored. However, the roller was too slow and second baseman Whit Merrifield didn’t have time to get the runner at first. That infield single loaded the bases and put Keller in a bind.
After a bases-loaded walk to force in the game’s first run, Keller froze Mariners former top prospect Jarred Kelenic on a 3-2 fastball on the inside corner to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.
Keller threw a total of 19 pitches to retire six consecutive batters in the second and third innings.
“One was just to make the mechanical adjustment,” Keller said of the differences after the first inning. “And two, just go after them. I kind of noticed pretty early on that they were going to take a lot, so just tried to go after them, throw pitches in the zone and make them make contact.”
He ran into trouble in the fourth when he gave up a pair of one-out singles and a two-out walk to load the bases, but he stranded three men for the second time in the game to keep it a one-run game.
Seager’s fifth-inning homer marked the second run allowed by Keller and ended his outing.
Keller said after the game that he started feeling the shoulder pain in the fourth inning, but pitched through it.
“I did a little bit of treatment on it then went back out there in the fifth, got a quick out and then yanked a fastball and I really felt something on the yanked fastball,” Keller said. “Then I tried to get back in there and throw a strike and the guy hit it for a homer. They said that was enough.
“It sucks. Especially since I felt like after that first inning I really wanted to get into the sixth. I felt like I had the pitch count to do it at that point.”
