Pirates Take Down Blue Jays in Rubber Match; Tommy Pham Gets Last Laugh
PITTSBURGH — Tommy Pham was greeted with boos by a large gathering of Toronto Blue Jays fans following a spat in the series opener, but the left fielder came up big for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 2-1 win at PNC Park on Wednesday afternoon.
How We Got There
George Springer settled a 10-pitch at-bat against Pirates starter Johan Oviedo by hitting a leadoff home run down the left field line.
The Pirates (54-74) put together a two-out rally off Chris Bassitt in the bottom of the first to take the lead, capped off by Pham’s two-run double down the left field line.
Dennis Santana held the Blue Jays (74-54) scoreless in the ninth for his ninth save of the season. Toronto did not have a runner reach scoring position after the fourth inning and the Pirates’ bullpen combined for four-scoreless innings.
Key Moment
Tommy Pham’s two-run single in the first ended up being the difference.
Tommy Pham gets things started 👏 pic.twitter.com/UThf37OcnD
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 20, 2025
Player of the Game
Johan Oviedo (1-0) held the Blue Jays to one run in five innings and struck out six batters. He only allowed a pair of hits.
Stat to Know
This was Johan Oviedo’s first win since Sep. 21, 2023 against the Chicago Cubs and his first at PNC Park since Aug. 22, 2023 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Notable Performances
- Johan Oviedo: 5.0 innings, two hits, one run, one walk, six strikeouts, 75 pitches/45 strikes
- Tommy Pham: 2 for 4, one double, two RBI
- Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 2, one double, one run, two walks
Noteworthy
- Tommy Pham changed his walk-up song to “Ambitionz Az a Ridah” by 2Pac for today’s game. Don’t think that was a coincidence.
- The Pirates recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned LHP Evan Sisk.
- Top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler will have his contract selected on Friday.
Up Next
The Pirates are off on Thursday and will host the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. Neither club has announced a starting pitcher. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
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