3 Home Runs, a Milestone, and a Franchise Record; Pirates’ Ryan O’Hearn Has Unforgettable Night
PITTSBURGH – Johnny Rizzo set the Pirates franchise record with nine RBIs in a game against the Cardinals on May 30, 1939, just over three months before the start of the second World War.
The record went untouched until Tuesday night, when Ryan O’Hearn homered three times and eclipsed Rizzo’s mark by driving in 10 runs in the Pirates’ 12-4 win over the Braves at PNC Park.
“Unbelivable,” manager Don Kelly said after the game. “Awesome night.”
In the bottom of the first after the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning, O’Hearn belted a grand slam to right field off Hurston Waldrep to give his team a three-run advantage, but the first baseman’s night was only just beginning.
Two innings later, O’Hearn again tagged Waldrep, this time for a three-run shot to center to put the Pirates ahead 7-2. Three innings after that, O’Hearn hit another three-run homer to right field off lefty reliever Connor Thomas to extend the lead to 10-2.
“I didn’t do anything different or special today,” he said after the game. “Just saw the ball really good from the first pitch of the day and was just kind of like in cruise control mode, I don’t know. Got some good pitches to hit and after the third one, I was like, ‘Oh man. No kidding. Today must be my day.’”
After reaching the dugout following his third homer of the game, O’Hearn climbed the steps and acknowledged the crowd for what was the first curtain call of his career, and one that was more than deserved given his heroics.
“Always said I’m not going to do it unless they really want it,” he said. “I feel like there’s nothing worse then popping out for a curtain call and it was just like a couple fans wanted it. Really cool to do it, have a game like this at home and get to have a curtain call and celebrate with the fans. So, really special.”
For O’Hearn, it was his first-career three-homer game at any level, and he became the 16th different Pirate to accomplish the feat.
Prior to his performance on Tuesday night, there had only been 10 instances of a player hitting three home runs and driving in 10 runs in the same game. Two-way star Shohei Ohatani was the last two do so in 2024.
Additionally, over his last two games at PNC Park, O’Hearn has hit five home runs and driven in 14 runs. He became just the fourth Pirates player to hit multiple home runs in back-to-back home games in the Modern Era (since 1920) and the first since Pedro Álvarez (July 20-21, 2010).
And oh yeah, his third home run was the 100th of his career.
“Pretty incredible night,” O’Hearn said.
You won’t see many better games than the one O’Hearn had for the Pirates on Tuesday night. The 32-year-old has been a great addition for Pittsburgh after signing a two-year free agent contract in the offseason. The impact he’s had on the team all season has been evident, but his latest performance elevated things to a level nobody could’ve envisioned.
“He’s a professional hitter,” said Kelly. “How many times have we seen him go back side this year? Line drive to left field, catch the offspeed pitches out front, drive it out of the park to right, hitting a home run to center? Just the total approach that he takes every single time he’s in the box, he’s such a professional hitter. The way our lineup has ran out there, he brings a stability to it.”
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