PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates are keeping Don Kelly as manager.

The club announced Monday that it had extended Kelly's contract after the team recovered from a miserable opening six weeks of the season thanks in part to Kelly's guidance.

Pittsburgh was 12-26 when it fired Derek Shelton on May 8 and promoted Kelly, who had served as the bench coach for five-plus seasons. While the Pirates never escaped last place in the NL Central following that nightmarish start, Pittsburgh did go 59-65 under Kelly, including a 32-33 mark after the All-Star break.

The 45-year-old Kelly is from Pittsburgh and played one of his nine big league seasons with the Pirates.

“Donnie is an elite communicator. He is deeply trusted by our players because he’s credible, consistent, and unafraid of tough

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