Pirates Hang on to Beat Orioles in Home Opener; Konnor Griffin Provides the Spark
PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin had a big impact in his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 5-4 home opener win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday evening.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 2nd, 4-0 PIT: Konnor Griffin sparked a four-run inning with an RBI double off Orioles starter Kyle Bradish (0-2). Griffin scored on a base hit to right field from Jared Triolo and the Pirates (4-3) tacked on two more runs — one on a Henry Davis double to left and another on an Oneil Cruz single.
Top 5th, 4-2 PIT: The Orioles (3-4) finally got to Mitch Keller (1-0) in the fifth. Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman each recorded RBI doubles to cut the Pirates’ lead in half.
Bottom 5th, 5-2 PIT: Ryan O’Hearn got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly off Dietrich Enns.
Top 7th, 5-3 PIT: Taylor Ward doubled home Blaze Alexander off Yohan Ramírez to bring Baltimore pack within a pair.
Top 9th, 5-4 PIT: Gunnar Henderson hit a solo home run off Gregory Soto with two outs in the ninth inning.
Key Moment
Mason Montgomery relieved Yohan Ramírez with two on and one out with the Pirates ahead by two runs. Montgomery got Adley Rutshcman to ground out to short and struck out Samuel Basallo to end the threat.
Player of the Game
Konnor Griffin went 1 for 3 with a double, an RBI, a run and a walk in his MLB debut. He also made a few nice plays at shortstop.
Stat to Know
Konnor Griffin became the first teenager to make his MLB debut with the Pirates since Aramis Ramirez in 1998. He also became the first teenager to reach base twice in his MLB debut with Pittsburgh since Bobby Del Greco in 1952.
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, six hits, two runs, four walks, four strikeouts, 88 pitches/56 strikes
- Konnor Griffin: 1 for 3, one double, one RBI, one run, one walk
- Jared Triolo: 2 for 3, one RBI, one run
Noteworthy
- Gregory Soto recorded his first save with the Pirates.
- Pirates starting pitchers have combined for a 1.99 ERA (7er/31.2ip) over their last six games.
- This marked the fourth straight season the Pirates hosted an American League team for their first home series of the year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Pittsburgh is the only team in all of Major League Baseball to have four consecutive interleague home openers since Major League Baseball moved to year-round interleague play, beginning in 2013.
- The Pirates unveiled a No. 9 patch they will wear on the sleeve of their jerseys this season to honor the late Bill Mazeroski.
- INF Enmanuel Valdez was designated for assignment to make room for Konnor Griffin on the 40-man roster.
Up Next
RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (0-0, 4.15 ERA) will make his second start of the season for the Pirates in the second game of the series on Saturday. RHP Shane Baz (0-0, 6.75 ERA) will start for the Orioles. First pitch: 4:05 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh+/93.7 The Fan.
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