The Pittsburgh Pirates had a huge 11-4 win in their series opener against the Atlanta Braves, with Ryan O’Hearn leading the charge from the very first inning.
Hurston Waldrep was on the bump for the Braves and did not start off his night great as in the first inning the Pirates had quickly loaded the bases. With one out and bases loaded O’Hearn came to the plate. With a 1-1 count Waldrep gave up a regrettable looking curveball that O’Hearn turned on and smashed into the right field stands. With that grand slam the Pirates were quickly up 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, O’Hearn was back at the plate with two runners on and no outs. Waldrep again gave O’Hearn an off-speed pitch in the lower part of the zone that ended up being crushed off the back drop in center field. Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez were driven in and the Pirates went up 7-2 with 7 RBIs and two homers on the night from O’Hearn.
Connor Thomas would relieve Waldrep but the momentum that the Pirates offense had started with at the beginning of the night had no end in sight. In the bottom of the sixth inning there was two outs with Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe on the base pads. With a 3-1 count O’Hearn took advantage of yet another off-speed pitch and armed the cannon with another cannonball into the right field stands. The Pirates went up 10-2 at that point in the game and O’Hearn had officially set a new record for most RBIs in a game by a Bucco, breaking Johnny Rizzo’s record that he set back in 1939 when he had nine in a game against St. Louis. With his 10th RBI he set the mark for most by any player in a game this season, and became the 17th player to have 10 RBIs in a game in the modern era.
O’Hearn would take a crack at getting a fourth homer on the night in the bottom of the eighth. He didn’t drive one home, but he did hit a line drive single into right field before exiting for a pinch runner and receiving a huge standing ovation from the fans at PNC Park. He would finish the night with four hits, 10 RBIs, three homers, upped his batting average to .293 and increased his season total of home runs to 16 which is just one shy of his career high of 17 that he had last season.
Although he was snubbed of a spot on the All-Star team, O’Hearn is having what could end up being the best season of his career. At 32-years-old it would be reasonable to see him start to decline, but he has enjoyed a career year with the Buccos so far and we’re only halfway through the season.
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