Ryan O’Hearn had a day at the ballpark on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman went 4 for 5 at the plate, with 3 home runs in a 12-4 rout of the Atlanta Braves.
He knocked in the first 10 Pirates runs of the day to set a franchise record for RBI in a single game. When he was done, he’d tallied 13 total bases. He could have had more had the Pirates not pulled him for a pinch runner after a single in the eighth inning.
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His tally for home runs, RBI and total bases were all career highs.
O’Hearn set the tone for his day when he took the plate in the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded. Braves starter Hurston Waldrep left a curveball hanging on the outside corner of the plate, and O’Hearn deposited it into the right-field bleachers for a grand slam and a 4-1 Pirates lead.
When he took the plate for his second at-bat in the bottom of the third, the Pirates broadcast apparently hadn’t received the memo. They decided to conduct an in-game interview with off-day pitcher Braxton Ashcraft in the middle of his at-bat with two runners on.
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O’Hearn interrupted the interview with his second home run of the day, this time a shot over the center field wall off of Waldrep that increased his RBI tally to seven.
Then in the sixth inning, O’Hearn did it again. This time the broadcast kept its focus on the game and his at-bat. Waldrep’s day was done at this point in favor of reliever Connor Thomas.
Thomas didn’t fare any better, surrendering a three-run home run to O’Hearn on a 3-1 count that boosted O’Hearn’s RBI tally to 10 to set the franchise record.
This elicited a well-deserved curtain call and a standing ovation from the Pirates faithful at PNC Park.
But his day wasn’t quite done. O’Hearn made one last plate appearance and delivered a single in the bottom of the eighth. With the Pirates holding an 11-2 lead, they pulled him for a pinch runner.
O’Hearn started the day with 13 home runs and 51 RBI on the season. He finished with 16 home runs and 61 RBI in a notable boost to his season-long tally.
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