Ryan O'Hearn turned a routine Tuesday night at PNC Park into a full-on demolition, launching three home runs and piling up a franchise-record 10 RBIs as the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled the Atlanta Braves 12-4. Nearly all of Pittsburgh's offense ran straight through O'Hearn, transforming what started as a competitive matchup into a lopsided affair before the game even reached the late innings. Paul Skenes backed the outburst with six sturdy innings of two-run ball to collect the win.
O'Hearn's milestone night
O'Hearn wasted no time getting the crowd involved, opening the scoring with a grand slam in the first inning, then following it with a three-run blast in the third and another three-run shot in the sixth, according to MLB.com. That three-swing barrage gave him three homers and 10 RBIs on the night, making him the first Pirate ever to drive in 10 runs in a single game and the first major leaguer to hit double digits in RBIs in one contest since Shohei Ohtani did it in 2024, per MLB.com. His season RBI total jumped from 51 to 61, and his home run tally climbed to 16 in the process.
Skenes steadies the rotation
While O'Hearn owned the headlines, Skenes quietly did exactly what the Pirates needed. The right-hander worked six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts, and was credited with the victory, according to the official box score at ESPN. On the other side, Braves starter Hurston Waldrep never found a groove, giving up seven runs and issuing five walks over 3 1/3 innings. The rough outing sent Atlanta to its third straight loss, while Pittsburgh kept its recent run of wins rolling.
A record that reaches back to 1939
O'Hearn's 10 RBIs did more than just bury the Braves. They snapped a club record that had stood since May 30, 1939, when Johnny Rizzo drove in nine runs in the second game of a doubleheader, according to Sportsnet. The third home run of the night carried its own milestone, going down as the 100th of O'Hearn's major league career, as noted by game reporters at theScore. The barrage earned him a curtain call from the PNC Park faithful, a rare, full-throated celebration for a Pirates slugger in recent years.
What it means for Pittsburgh
The offensive eruption arrived at just the right time for a club that has leaned heavily on its pitching, and it gave Skenes his first win since May 12, as local coverage in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes. O'Hearn, who signed a two-year, $29 million contract with the Pirates this past offseason, has quickly planted himself in the heart of the order, and Tuesday's historic performance showed exactly why the team made that investment, according to MLB.com. As the series continues, the Pirates are hoping O'Hearn's surge can give the rotation a little breathing room while the staff settles back into form.
