Paul Skenes had a little fun at Ryan O’Hearn’s expense after one of the loudest nights the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen all season.
O’Hearn powered Pittsburgh to a 12-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday with a three-homer, 10-RBI performance, and Skenes’ postgame reaction came with a grin. The Pirates ace, who finally picked up his first win in nearly two months, called the outing “selfish” in a joking way because the homers kept ending rallies.
“I think it was kinda selfish, to be honest," Skenes told reporters after the game. "Everybody else is getting on.
Home runs are rally killers. You hit a 3-run home run or a grand slam, and it's just like, what now?
There's nobody on. Nobody can drive him in.
Good for him, I guess."
O’Hearn started the damage right away. In the first inning, he launched Hurston Waldrep’s 1-1 curveball into the right-field stands for a grand slam.
He came back in the third and turned another off-speed pitch from Waldrep into a three-run homer to center field. Then in the sixth, with Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe aboard, he jumped on Connor Thomas’ 3-1 count and sent another off-speed pitch into the right-field stands.
That last swing gave O’Hearn the Pirates record for RBIs in a game, passing Johnny Rizzo’s nine-RBI mark from 1939 against St. Louis.
Skenes did his part on the mound, throwing six innings of two-run ball and striking out four to get his first win since May 12.
O’Hearn’s 10-RBI night was the most by any player this season, and he became the 17th player in the modern era to drive in 10 runs in a game. The final homer also marked the 100th home run of his MLB career.
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