PITTSBURGH — Ryan O’Hearn hit two of his team’s four home runs as the Pirates salvaged their series against the Reds with a 9-4 win at PNC Park on Sunday.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 2nd, 4-0 PIT: The Pirates (42-42) opened the inning with three straight hits off Brady Singer (3-7) and Esmerlyn Valdez’s ground-rule double to left pushed across the first run of the game. Tyler Callihan followed with a 412-foot three-run home run to right field, his third of the season.
Top 4th, 4-2 PIT: Elly De La Cruz reached on second baseman Brandon Lowe’s error and Sal Stewart doubled to right off Mitch Keller (6-5). Both runners scored on a JJ Bleday single to center.
Top 5th, 4-4: The Reds (39-43) tied the game on an Edwin Arroyo two-run single to right field. Noelvi Marte drew a leadoff walk and Tyler Stephenson set Cincinnati up with two in scoring position and no outs with a double.
Bottom 5th, 5-4 PIT: The Pirates quickly took the lead back on Ryan O’Hearn’s solo home run to right field. His 12th of the season traveled 421 feet and knocked Singer out of the game.
Bottom 8th, 8-4 PIT: After back-to-back walks to begin the inning, O’Hearn hit a three-run home run to right field off Pierce Johnson. Esmerlyn Valdez followed with a 461-foot home run to left-center.
Key Moment
Ryan O’Hearn’s go-ahead home run came the inning after the Pirates had the bases loaded with no outs for the top of the order but were unable to push across a run.
Player of the Game
Ryan O’Hearn recorded the third multi-homer game of his career and had his third game this season with at least four RBI.
Stat to Know
Bryan Reynolds extended his on-base streak to 33 games, which is the fourth-longest by a Pirate since 1980. The only players with longer streaks are Jay Bell (37 games, 1993), Brian Giles (35 games, 2001) and Bill Madlock (35 games, 1980).
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, five hits, four runs (three earned), one walk, four strikeouts, 79 pitches/50 strikes
- Ryan O’Hearn: 3 for 5, two home runs, four RBI, three runs
- Esmerlyn Valdez: 3 for 4, one home run, one double, one walk, two RBI, two runs
- Tyler Callihan: 2 for 4, one home run, one walk, three RBI, one run
Noteworthy
- Esmerlyn Valdez became the first Pirates rookie to homer in three straight games since Kevin Newman in 2019.
- After going four straight starts without one, this was Mitch Keller’s second straight quality start and ninth of the season. Keller’s win was his first since May 24 in Toronto.
- While Bryan Reynolds extended his on-base streak, his hitting streak was snapped at 17 games after going 0 for 3 with two walks.
- The Pirates had the bases loaded in three different innings (twice with no outs) and didn’t score a run in any of those situations.
- The games was delayed for 1 hour and 5 minutes in the bottom of the eighth inning due to rain.
Up Next
The Pirates embark on a seven-game road trip starting Monday night across the state. RHP Braxton Ashcraft (7-3, 3.07 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh. RHP Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.58 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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