The Pittsburgh Pirates have been around since 1881, yet they've never seen a performance quite like Ryan O'Hearn's on Tuesday.
Against the Atlanta Braves, O'Hearn put together one of the most dominant single-game performances in Pirates history, going 4-for-5 with three home runs and driving in 10 of Pittsburgh's 12 runs. The 32-year-old slugger became the first Pirate ever to drive in 10 runs in a single game as Pittsburgh cruised to a 12-4 win.
O'Hearn surpassed Johnny Rizzo's record for most RBI in a game by a Pirate, a record that stood for 87 years. Rizzo had his nine-RBI game on May 30, 1939, going 5-for-6 with two homers.
Yet it took just six innings for O'Hearn to set a new record. Each of his three homers came with plenty of ducks on the pond; the first was a grand slam, while the next two were three-run shots.
"I didn't really do anything different or special today. Just saw it really good from the first pitch of the day, and just kinda was on cruise control mode," O'Hearn said to the media after the game.
After the Braves scored a run in the top of the first, Pittsburgh loaded the bases in the bottom half on a hit-by-pitch, single and walk against starter Hurston Waldrep. O'Hearn then stepped to the plate with one out and deposited a curveball over the Roberto Clemente Wall in right field for his first four RBI of the night; the Pirates grabbed a 4-1 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
The Bucs rallied off Waldrep again in the third when Bryan Reynolds walked and Esmerlyn Valdez singled to open the inning. That brought up O'Hearn, who crushed a slider 415 feet into the center field shrubs for three more RBI.
O'Hearn was unable to capitalize with two runners on in his next plate appearance, grounding out to first base against new pitcher Connor Thomas in the fourth inning. But he wouldn't waste his next opportunity.
Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe led off the sixth inning with singles before Thomas retired the next two batters. However, O'Hearn then worked a 3-1 count against the southpaw before getting a hanging sweeper right down the middle; he belted it over the Clemente Wall to widen Pittsburgh's lead to 10-2 and break Rizzo's franchise record.
O'Hearn added a fourth hit for good measure in the bottom of the eighth inning, singling against position player Jorge Mateo before being replaced by pinch-runner Billy Cook. He ended the night with a personal-best 13 total bases and as the 17th player in modern MLB history (dating back to 1900) to record 10 RBI in a game. The previous player to accomplish this feat was Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 19, 2024.
Playing in the first year of a two-year, $29 million contract, O'Hearn carries a .293/.351/.500 slash line with 16 home runs, 61 RBI and a 130 wRC+ in 319 plate appearances. His production has been integral to the Pirates' offense, which ranks third in MLB with 475 runs scored.
