Pirates
Heaney Comes Out Sizzling for Pirates in Win Over Angels; Cruz’s Homer Went How Far?!
Andrew Heaney struck out the first six batters he saw and carried a perfect game bid into the fifth inning in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night.
How We Got There
Bryan Reynolds broke a scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly off Jack Kochanowicz (1-3) in the top of the third inning.
Two innings later, Oneil Cruz clobbered a 463-foot solo home run to straightaway center to extend the Pirates’ lead to 2-0. The blast was the second-longest homer of Cruz’s career.
Oneil Cruz just casually hit a 463 foot home run to dead center. His power is effortless. pic.twitter.com/RKel4V1DLZ
— Danny Demilio (@Demilio22) April 24, 2025
Tommy Pham tacked off an insurance run in the top of the ninth with an RBI single up the middle.
Dennis Santana converted his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Key Moment
Andrew Heaney’s strikeout of Nolan Schanuel in the top of the second inning made is six-straight strikeouts to begin the game. It was only the start of a dominant start for the veteran left-hander, who only allowed one baserunner.
Star of the Game
With 6.0 more shutout innings, Andrew Heaney (2-1) extended his scoreless-innings streak to 16.1 innings dating back to his start against the Reds on Apr. 12. Heaney also notched his 1,100th career strikeout in Wednesday’s win.
1,100 career strikeouts for Andrew Heaney đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/flKjCeTibE
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 24, 2025
Notable Pirates’ Performances
- Andrew Heaney: 6.0 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, nine strikeouts, 95 pitches/66 strikes
- David Bednar: 1.0 inning, no hits, no runs, no walks, two strikeouts, 13 pitches/10 strikes
- Oneil Cruz: 2 for 5, one home run, one RBI, one run
- Adam Frazier: 1 for 3, one walk, one run, one steal
- Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 4, one RBI, one sac fly
- Tommy Pham: 1 for 4, one RBI
- Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 3, one walk
Stat to Know
Heaney became the second Pirates’ pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to strikeout six-plus batters to start a game. The other is Paul Skenes, who struck out the first seven Cubs he faced in his second-career start on May 17, 2024.
Noteworthy
- Adam Frazier extended his hitting streak to seven games with a base hit in the fourth. That’s his longest since an eight-game streak in May of 2023. Isiah Kiner-Falefa extended his hitting steak to six.
- Oneil Cruz’s longest home run measured 472 feet last year against the Diamondbacks. Cruz’s homer on Wednesday is the fourth-longest in baseball this year.
Up Next
The Pirates (10-15) will rely on RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 7.41 ERA) as they go for their first sweep of the season on Thursday. Former Pirate LHP Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.08 ERA) will try to prevent the sweep for the Angels (11-12). First pitch: 9:29 p.m. ET.