PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller pitched six scoreless innings to win his sixth straight start, Oneil Cruz homered for a second consecutive game and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Friday night.

Keller (8-3) scattered seven hits while striking eight and walking two. He also pitched at least five innings for the 44th straight time, the longest active streak in the major leagues.

During his winning streak, Keller has allowed five runs in 39 2/3 innings for a 1.13 ERA. He’s the first Pirates pitcher to win six consecutive starts since Gerrit Cole in 2015.

“Anything being (mentioned) with Gerrit is pretty cool,” Keller said. “He’s someone I look up to, so that’s pretty cool. Good rhythm. I’m trying to keep it going. Probably more crisp now that it’s warming up. I just feel a little bit better each time out.”

Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman and David Bednar each pitched one scoreless inning of relief to finish the eight-hitter. Bednar notched his 13th save in 16 opportunities as the Pirates recorded their third shutout of the season and won for the third time in their last four games.

“It’s kind of like handing the ball off, just passing the baton,” Bednar said of the relievers. “It’s been really cool watching those guys work. They’re nasty.”

Cruz hit a 422-foot drive into the stands in right-center field off Joe Ryan (4-5) to lead off the second. It was his team-high ninth of the season and came after he hit a 462-foot shot Thursday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Any time a guy hits a ball that high, that far, you definitely step back,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We know when Oneil’s in the right spot mechanically, he has the ability to really impact the baseball, and we’ve seen that the last two nights.”

Connor Joe homered with two outs in the eighth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0, connecting against Griffin Jax.

Bryan Reynolds doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly, the 23rd RBI for the second baseman in 25 games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Reynolds had two of the Pirates’ four hits.

Ryan allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and two walks as the Twins lost their fourth straight. They were swept in a three-game series by the New York Yankees.

“He was really efficient. He was really good. He was in control of all his pitches,” Shelton said of Ryan.

Trevor Larnach, Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda and Byron Buxton had two hits each for the Twins, but they were shut out for the fourth time.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out in fifth while trailing 1-0. However, Keller got out of the jam by striking out Royce Lewis and Max Kepler. Lewis’ nine-game hitting streak, which began last season, ended.

Twins assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon was ejected in the top of the fifth by plate umpire Paul Clemons for arguing a called strike on Correa.

Up next

Twins rookie RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-0, 3.05 ERA) pitches Saturday. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (0-2, 6.75) will start for the Pirates in what will likely be a bullpen game.

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Judah Zinter was a busy guy at Friday’s Class A state track and field meet.

The Concordia Academy junior competed in four events — the long jump, the 300-meter hurdles and the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

That last event was the day’s highlight as Zinter captured the boys 200 state title in a time of 22.14 seconds, holding off Medford senior Jesse Ortiz, who finished in a time of 22.30.

Nova Classical Academy senior Henry Peklo finished fifth in a time of 22.44.

“I remember being so disappointed when I was here last year,” said Zinter, who competed in the 300 hurdles and 4×200 relay a year ago, but did not advance to finals in either event.

“This year is the complete opposite. It feels amazing.”

The title came after Zinter finished third in the 100 (10.98) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (40.51). He turned in a leap of 20-feet-4.75 in the long jump, which left him in 14th place. Peklo finished seventh in the 100 (11.13). Math and Science Academy junior Malcolm Lewis finished seventh in the long jump (21-1).

“I was happy with how things went overall,” Zinter said. “I was feeling pretty disappointed after the 300 hurdles because I thought I could have run a lot better. But winning the 200 made up for all that.”

A broken arm suffered mid-season a year ago kept Zinter’s Concordia Academy teammate Logan Swanson from competing in the hurdles.

And while Swanson did compete at the state meet as part of the Beacons’ 4×200 relay team, this season marked the junior’s first appearance in an individual event.

He made the most of it, finishing second in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.86 seconds. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted senior Hayden Brown won the event in a time of 14.77.

“Now I know I can compete here,” Swanson said. “Coming in, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. But now I have a lot more confidence in myself.”

Winning 400

St. Paul Academy and Summit School junior Oliver Thompson only ran the 400 dash twice last season. But the second time came at the section meet, where he just missed qualifying for state by less than a second.

That performance raised the bar coming into this season.

“I talked to my coaches coming into the season and they told me they were going to get me in there,” Thompson said. “They said they were going to have me running two (400s) a meet (including relays), and I was just going to get better.”

It turned out to be sound strategy as Thompson — competing in his first state meet — won the boys 400 Friday in a time of 48.78 seconds.

“It feels great,” said Thompson, who ran the 400 twice in prelims Thursday, first in his own event, then as part of Spartans’ 4×400 relay team that did not qualify for finals. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I’m still feeling a little sore from all these 400s. But it’s really exciting.”

Girls 300 hurdles

St. Paul Academy and Summit School sophomore Elizabeth Tuttle is also going home a state champion after winning the girls 300 hurdles in a time of 44.82 seconds. That came after she finished second in the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.00. A.B.E. senior Lucea Wales won the event in a time of 14.76. Trinity/Unity senior Mariah Willard finished third (15.11). Willard placed eighth in the 300 (46.41).

“I got a PR (personal record) in the 100, but I was aiming to go sub-15 and I finished in 15 flat,” said Tuttle, who finished sixth in the 100 hurdles and third in the long jump at the Class 2A state meet a year ago (the Spartans dropped to Class A this season).

“And I finished as runner-up. So I was pretty motivated going into the 300.”

Another big day for Lewis

Math and Science freshman McKaylen Lewis followed up a huge day on Thursday with a second-place finish in the girls 200 Friday, turning in a time of 24.76 seconds. Bagley/Fosston junior Ava Phrakonkham won the event with a time of 24.60.

The day before, Lewis won state titles in the high jump (5-5) and long jump (19-9).

“I didn’t come into this season with any expectations in the high jump because I’d never tried it before,” said Lewis, who finished second in the long jump and third in the 200 at the state meet a year ago. “In the long jump, my goal was to come back and do better than I did last season. So I couldn’t be more happy.

“(Friday) was just a really calm day,” she continued. “It was nice to slow down and focus on getting ready for my race.”

Long distance win

It wasn’t quite the same feeling as winning the Class A state cross country title last fall. That, after all, was Mounds Park Academy junior Eddie Snider’s first state championship. But winning the boys 3,200 Thursday was still a thrill.

“It was less of a shock than it was in cross country,” said Snider, who finished in a time of 9:31.95. “But it was still fun. Now I can call myself a two-sport champion.”

Snider — whose sister Megan, a freshman, competed in the girls 1,600 and 3,200 — was back on the track Friday for the 1,600. He finished 11th in a time of 4:30.96. Math and Science Academy sophomore Liam Caldwell was 10th in a time of 4:29.04. Redwood Valley junior William Ahrens won the event in a time of 4:19.91.

“The mile isn’t really my best event,” Snider said. “So I just tried to do the best I could. It went OK.”

A St. Croix run

The St. Croix Lutheran boys 4×400 relay team finished third overall in a time of 3:24.12.

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St. Paul Academy freshman Zahir Hassan won the Class A singles state title in straight sets Friday at Reed Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

To do so, he had to knock off his teammate.

Hassan, the No. 2 seed, bested the tournament’s top seed, Spartans’ eighth-grader Winston Arvidson, 6-4, 6-1 to win the championship.

Hassan didn’t drop a set throughout his state tournament run, and the first set of the title match marked the only time in the two days that he lost more than two games in a set.

St. Paul Academy — which won the team title Wednesday — completed the Class A state week sweep as Leo Benson and Maik Nguyen repeated as doubles champs. The top seed downed the No. 2 seed, Carter Reinbold and Charlie Paul of Mound Westonka, 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match.

The senior duo didn’t drop a set this week.

CLASS 2A

Rochester Mayo’s Tej Bhagra beat Wayzata’s Aaron Beduhn 6-4, 6-4 to claim the Class 2A individual state crown at Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

Mahtomedi’s Brandon Pham claimed third place after Zephyrs teammate Sam Rathmanner retired following a grueling three-set, semifinal loss to Beduhn.

Orono’s Anthony Perrill and Quinn Martini beat Wayzata’s Tanay Panguluri and Jacob Salisbury 6-2, 6-4 to win the doubles title.

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Randolph 3, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 0

Carter Raymond tossed her second consecutive shutout in as many days to lead Randolph to a Class 2A state championship.

The star junior hurler allowed just four hits in the title game victory over the No. 2 seed, one day after tossing a one-hitter in a semifinal win over St. Agnes.

She finished the state tournament with 17 consecutive scoreless innings tossed. Raymond struck out 28 batters in 21 innings pitched in North Mankato this week.

Allie Gillette delivered the key offensive blow for the top-seeded Rockets (27-1), connecting on a two-run double down the left-field line in the third inning to put Randolph up 2-0. Kylee Carey supplied an RBI single in the seventh for an insurance run.

Julia Montgomery had two hits for second-seeded Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (23-3). The title is Randolph’s second, with the first coming in 2021 in Class A.

Rogers 3, New Prague 0

Making just its second state tournament appearance in program history — and first since 2005 — Rogers now has a Class 4A state title.

Kamryn Messer led the third-seeded Royals (22-3) with two hits, but it was Olivia Ohme who put the Royals on the board in the second with an RBI double. Seven different Rogers players collected hits in the title game, as the Royals scored runs in the second, fifth and seventh frames.

That was more than enough offense for AnnaBelle Waldoch. The eighth-grader was dominant in the circle, tossing a three-hit shutout that featured seven strikeouts.

Jordyn Marsh had 10 strikeouts for fourth-seeded New Prague (21-4), who was also making its first title game appearance.

New Ulm Cathedral 10, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 4

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley’s Cinderella run from unseeded team to the state final in just the program’s second state tournament appearance — and first since 2004 — finally succumbed in the Class A final to the dominant bats of the top seed.

Jenna Hotovec went 4 for 5 at the plate for New Ulm Cathedral (26-2), while Alexa Hornick and Abbey Hillesheim each had three runs batted in. Ava Schmid drove in two runs while scoring two of her own.

Hillesheim hit a three-run homer in the second, part of a four-run frame after Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (20-5) claimed a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Jayde Altermatt threw a complete game for New Ulm Cathedral.

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