The Pirates returned home fresh off a key series win against the Nationals in Washington looking to keep the momentum rolling before the All-Star break. Standing in their way was a pivotal six-game homestand against two of the top teams in the National League, beginning with a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves.
The Pirates have put together some impressive runs heading into the All-Star break in years past, and it was going to take another one if they wanted to stay afloat in the National League Wild Card race before the season reached its midway pause.
Game 1 felt like a pivotal game not only for the series, but for the homestand and perhaps even the season as a whole with Paul Skenes taking the mound. After a miserable outing in Philadelphia and nine consecutive losses on days where Skenes started, the Pirates desperately needed their ace to find his stride.
Skenes had some fans stirring in their seats early after allowing a first-inning run courtesy of some two-out offense from the Braves, but he settled in nicely from there. Atlanta's dangerous top of the order created traffic throughout the afternoon, yet Skenes consistently found ways to escape thanks to a pair of key double plays. He completed six innings while allowing eight hits, two earned runs, striking out four, and walking one. It was not his most dominant outing, but it was exactly the type of quality start the Pirates needed.
As much as the pregame focus centered around Skenes, the postgame conversation belonged entirely to Ryan O'Hearn. When something happens that has never happened in Pirates history, it deserves the spotlight.
O'Hearn wasted no time making his mark. In the first inning, he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out before launching a grand slam over the Clemente Wall to give Pittsburgh an early 4-1 lead. With the news that Konnor Griffin had returned to the injured list and the pressure surrounding another Skenes start, the slam immediately brought life back into both the dugout and the crowd.
He was not finished. Leading 4-2 in the third inning, O'Hearn came up with two runners aboard and nobody out. Hurston Waldrep challenged him with another breaking ball in the zone, and O'Hearn made him pay again by crushing a second three-run homer into the center field shrubbery for what Greg Brown likes to call a "topiary tater." Suddenly the Pirates led 7-2, and O'Hearn already had seven RBI before the game was halfway over.
Then came the finishing touch. With two runners on again in the sixth inning, Atlanta turned to a left-hander hoping to slow him down. It did not matter. O'Hearn drilled his third home run of the afternoon over the Clemente Wall to make it 10-2. At that point, it felt like Ryan O'Hearn was playing his own game while everyone else simply watched.
The PNC Park crowd rewarded him with a curtain call, and O'Hearn finished one of the greatest individual performances in franchise history by adding a single in the eighth inning. His final line was an astonishing 4-for-5 with three home runs and 10 RBI. He became the first Pirate ever to drive in 10 runs in a game and just the seventeenth player in Major League history to accomplish the feat.
The Pirates tacked on a couple more runs against a position player in the eighth before Atlanta added a few late runs during mop-up duty. Pittsburgh cruised to a 12-4 victory and opened the series in emphatic fashion.
Game 2 featured far less offense and much more pitching. Jared Jones and Grant Holmes traded dominant performances throughout the night in what quickly turned into an old-fashioned pitchers' duel.
Holmes tossed five scoreless innings before reaching his pitch limit, and Atlanta's bullpen picked up right where he left off. Didier Fuentes, Dylan Dodd, Dylan Lee, and Raisel Iglesias combined to keep the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way.
As good as Holmes was, Jones somehow managed to be even better. The young right-hander was absolutely dominant, retiring every batter he faced through six perfect innings on only 77 pitches while striking out eight. Since returning from a major injury, the Pirates have maintained a strict workload plan for Jones, limiting him to around 80 pitches. Even with a perfect game intact, Game 2 was no exception.
Don Kelly lifted Jones after six perfect innings, sending Pirates fans into an absolute frenzy throughout Pittsburgh. Jones, however, supported the decision afterward, explaining that the organization had followed this plan throughout his return and that nothing had changed.
The bigger issue was not necessarily removing Jones. It was the plan that surrounded him. Kelly used Carmen Mlodzinski for two innings the previous night despite holding a comfortable eight-run lead, making him unavailable for games 2 and 3. That decision came back to haunt Pittsburgh in more ways than one.
Mason Montgomery handled the seventh inning and surrendered a single to Ozzie Albies that ended the perfect game, but otherwise kept things scoreless.
Then the bullpen unraveled. Dennis Santana entered during the eighth inning of a scoreless game and immediately recorded two outs. Just when it looked like he might finally be regaining some trust, everything fell apart. Mike Yastrzemski doubled off the wall before former Pirate Joey Bart delivered the biggest blow of the night, crushing a two-run homer against his former club to give Atlanta a late 2-0 lead. Joey Bart, of all people, Joey Bart.
Even though the Pirates' offense had been silent all evening and two runs already felt like a mountain to climb, Atlanta added one more insurance run off Isaac Mattson in the ninth for good measure.
The Braves claimed Game 2 by a score of 3-0 and evened the series while Jones became the first starting pitcher in the Statcast era to throw six or more perfect innings without earning a victory. Ouch.
That set up yet another pivotal rubber match for this Pirates club. Hovering around four games behind the final National League Wild Card spot, these early July games carried much more significance than they normally would. With the division-leading Brewers arriving immediately afterward, the Pirates had another golden opportunity to keep themselves firmly in the race.
Unfortunately, they spent most of Thursday playing from behind. After recording two quick outs to begin the afternoon, Mitch Keller's struggles against left-handed hitters resurfaced. Matt Olson launched a solo home run toward the Allegheny River to put Atlanta in front 1-0. After recently breaking down how Keller could rediscover his success by relying less on his cutter, Olson made him pay for going right back to it.
The Pirates had excellent opportunities to answer in each of the first two innings but simply could not capitalize. Ryan O'Hearn struck out with runners on second and third to end the first, and in the second Pittsburgh again had runners on second and third with nobody out but failed to score. Rafael Flores struck out, Jared Triolo grounded out to third, and Jake Mangum struck out to waste another golden opportunity.
Keller's afternoon continued to unravel in the third inning. Two lengthy at-bats drove his pitch count north of 70 through only three innings, while hits from Mauricio Dubón and Ozzie Albies stretched Atlanta's lead to 3-0. Keller escaped the inning, but his day was finished after just three frames. His recent struggles have become impossible to ignore, and it is quickly reaching the point where something may have to change.
The Pirates finally answered with a pair of swings in the fourth inning. Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez launched back-to-back home runs to trim the deficit to 3-2 and inject some life back into PNC Park.
That momentum disappeared almost immediately. Cam Sanders entered in relief and quickly ran into trouble. Mike Yastrzemski walked before Jim Jarvis connected for his first Major League home run to push the lead back to 5-2. A pair of walks followed before Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to stretch the advantage to 6-2 and once again quiet the crowd.
Then came one more push from the Battlin' Bucs. Jared Triolo reached on catcher's interference before Jake Mangum absolutely demolished a two-run homer that nearly left the ballpark in right field. Mangum admired it briefly as it sailed into the seats, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
He was not finished either. Mangum delivered again in the sixth inning with a clutch two-out RBI single that made it a one-run game at 6-5. Suddenly, a contest that looked destined for a blowout had become another nail-biter.
One of the quieter stories of the afternoon was how well the bullpen performed after Sanders' rough inning. Hunter Stratton, Yohan Ramirez, and Gregory Soto combined to keep Atlanta scoreless, giving the offense every opportunity to complete another comeback.
The Pirates had a real chance in the eighth but once again failed to cash in as Tyler Callihan struck out, Rafael Flores grounded out, and Triolo lined out sharply.
Then came the decision that everyone will be talking about. After Soto needed only 12 pitches to navigate the eighth inning, Don Kelly elected to go away from his closer despite two left-handed hitters leading off the ninth. Instead of sticking with Soto or turning to Mason Montgomery, Kelly handed the ball to Dennis Santana, who had already blown Game 2 less than 24 hours earlier.
The decision backfired immediately. Santana loaded the bases before striking out Austin Riley to give himself one last chance to escape. Instead, he lost the strike zone once again before leaving a 3-1 fastball over the heart of the plate to Mike Yastrzemski. The Braves outfielder launched a grand slam into the seats, delivering the knockout punch and ending any hopes of another Pirates comeback.
Atlanta rolled to a 10-5 victory and claimed the series.
Final Thoughts
Ryan O'Hearn delivered one of the greatest offensive performances in Pirates history, and it deserved every bit of the spotlight. A three-home run, ten-RBI game is something fans may never witness again, and it single-handedly turned Game 1 into one of the most memorable nights PNC Park has seen in years.
On the other side of the coin, Dennis Santana simply cannot continue to be trusted in high-leverage situations. The struggles have piled up for weeks now, and once again he was unable to protect a close game. At some point, results have to matter.
Don Kelly also has some explaining to do after his bullpen management over the final two games. Pulling Gregory Soto after only 12 pitches in favor of Santana, especially after what happened the night before, is a decision that will be questioned for quite some time.
The Pirates are also reaching a dangerous point in their season. They remain within striking distance of a Wild Card spot, but moral victories no longer move the needle. If they do not start winning series against quality opponents, they run the risk of falling out of the race before the trade deadline even arrives.
Next up for the Pirates is another massive series at PNC Park against the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Game 1 is set for Friday night at 6:40 PM as Braxton Ashcraft takes the mound against Brandon Sproat.
