Dallas Keuchel Looks Solid in 2023 Debut, But St. Paul Saints Lose to Mud Hens, 7-3

Dallas Keuchel made his 2023 pitching debut for the St. Paul Saints, the Minnesota Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, going 4.0 innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out four.

However, the Saints suffered a 7-3 rain-shortened, six-inning loss to the Toledo Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field on Sunday afternoon. The Saints finished the first half with 43-31 record.

Keuchel, the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner who has been out of baseball for the past nine months, threw 54 pitches, 36 for strikes and got 11 swings and misses.

The 35-five-old’s lone mistake came off the bat of Andrew Knapp, who cracked a solo homer to left, his fifth of the season, cutting St, Paul’s lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the third. 

According to a report, Keuchel’s velocity has returned.

That is promising, because he was 2-5 with a 7.88 ERA in the first six weeks of last season with the Chicago White Sox. Then, Keuchel went 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks and surrendered 14 runs in 10 innings before the Texas Rangers released him.

Keuchel posted a 6-2 record with 1.99 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign with the White Sox. Unfortunately for him, he dropped to 9-9 with a 5.28 ERA in 2021 and Chicago left him off the American League Division Series against the Astros that Houston won in four games.

— Jerry Del Priore