Mahle didn't factor into the decision against the Pirates on Thursday despite a strong outing that saw him give up five hits over six scoreless innings. He struck out five with no walks as the Reds fell 2-0.
It was a sterling outing from the right-hander, but he wasn't provided any run support and was forced to settle for the no-decision. It was an encouraging start, but Mahle posted a subpar 4.98 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in his 112 innings last year, so he'd need to string a few outings like this together in order to demonstrate he's moved past those struggles. Perhaps his biggest issue last season was conceding too many long balls, as opponents cranked 22 off him in his 23 starts.