It's easy to lose track of the Pirates. You either bet against them, or ignore them. But there's one Pittsburgh pitcher worth paying attention to: Mitch Keller.

Keller's overall numbers are 2-5 with a 4.77 ERA. Below the radar, though, Keller has started to live up to his huge promise. He is 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA in his last five starts.

Keller gives the Pirates a starting pitching edge against Paolo Espino, a converted reliever who doesn't miss many bats. Espino's ERA is 2.21, which is way down from his 4.27 ERA of last season. But he's only thrown 40 2/3 innings. This will be just his fourth start. His metrics aren't nearly as good as his ERA. So the possibility of regression won't surprise.

Pittsburgh has dropped five in a row. Those defeats, however, were by a combined seven runs. The Pirates have a better record than the Nationals.

(Editor's note: Stephen Nover is 7-2 on his last nine free plays.)