Power's Keller dazzles in scoreless outing

In order for Mitch Keller to be at his best, he had to banish his fear of being hit.

Pittsburgh's No. 14 prospect gave up two hits and struck out three without a walk while lasting seven innings for the second straight start as Class A West Virginia blanked Augusta, 3-0, on Wednesday at Appalachian Power Park. The Power notched their second straight shutout for the first time since 2010.

Keller (6-5) induced 13 groundouts and yielded just a double and single to Shawon Dunston Jr. The 2014 second-round pick threw 55 of his 80 pitches for strikes.

"I was just pounding fastballs down in the zone, and then later on in the game, going to the secondary out stuff and being able to throw it for strikes really helped," he said. "The changeup and the curveball worked really well."

Keller dazzled during the early stages of his first South Atlantic League season with a 0.86 ERA in April and a 2.50 mark in May. June was another story for the 20-year-old right-hander. His ERA ballooned to 6.39 and opponents hit .275 against him.

For Keller, rediscovering his early-season level was a matter of command. Though he hasn't had any problem finding the strike zone -- with only 11 walks in 88 2/3 innings -- the 6-foot-3 hurler saw an issue with what part of the zone his pitches ended up in.

"I've just been working on getting the ball down," he said. "During the month of June, I was kind of getting it up and leaving it elevated. That was allowing the hitters to be able to put stuff in play and get more hits that led to runs."

Despite the tough month, Keller's numbers still stand out among other pitchers on the circuit. The Iowa native leads the league with a 0.83 WHIP and ranks fourth in strikeouts (94) and third in walks per nine innings (1.12). In fact, command has become an unexpected strength for Keller a season after he issued 16 free passes in just 19 2/3 innings a season ago with Rookie-level Bristol.

Ultimately, Keller said he can continue to succeed as long as he sticks to the aggressive approach that powered his early-season dominance.

"The main thing was just the mentality of letting them hit it," he said. "Obviously, I'm not trying to let them hit it, but I'm trying to put it in the zone and fill the zone up. That's the mentality of being aggressive.

"We preach ground-ball outs as starting pitchers, and that's what's allowed me to go seven tonight. Later on in my career, that'll allow me to go even further."

Power right-hander Seth McGarry fanned one batter in a perfect ninth to pick up his fourth save.

Cory Taylor (7-4) surrendered three runs -- one earned -- on five hits and one walk while striking out nine over five innings for the GreenJackets.