PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates tied a franchise record by hitting seven home runs in a 14-2 demolition of the New York Mets on Friday night — so many that the team said it had run out of fireworks.
Bryan Reynolds and Rowdy Tellez became the first teammates in major league history to each hit multiple home runs, including a grand slam, in the same game. Reynolds also tied a career high with six RBIs, continuing a 25-game hitting streak in June.
“What, June 38?” Reynolds joked after a four-hit night that boosted his batting average to .280.
All 14 of the Pirates’ runs came on home runs, the most they’ve scored on a long ball in a game since at least 1900.
“We hit so many home runs we ran out of fireworks,” the Pirates posted on X. “We mean business.”
We hit so many home runs that we ran out of fireworks.
We are serious.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 6, 2024
Pirates rookie starter Paul Skenes (5-0) allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in seven strong innings while his ERA rose slightly to 2.12.
The mustachioed right-hander has struck out seven or more batters in nine of his first 10 starts, the most strikeouts ever by a pitcher in the first 10 games of his career. Skenes has thrown 74 pitches of at least 100 mph this season, more than double the number of any other major league pitcher.
But Skenes didn’t just beat the Mets with his pitching. The last of his 107 pitches was an 87-mph slider that Harrison Bader missed, bringing the second-largest sellout crowd of the season to PNC Park’s feet as the 6-foot-6 No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft headed to the dugout.
“That’s why it’s nice to have five pitches,” Skenes said. “Because if one of them isn’t there, then we can pitch with the other ones. The fastball was definitely not there at the beginning of the game. So we just stuck with the other stuff.”
Pittsburgh’s struggling offense – as it often seems to be when Skenes is in the starting lineup – provided plenty of breathing room.
Reynolds hit a two-run home run to left off Luis Severino (5-3) in the fifth inning to give Pittsburgh the lead. His grand slam – to right – came off reliever Jake Diekman in the seventh.
It was the fifth time since 1900 that a Pirates player hit a home run from both sides of the plate (Reynolds twice, Dale Sveum, Bobby Bonilla twice).
Tellez hit his grand slam in a six-run eighth inning that ended with Mets catcher and designated hitter Luis Torrens striking out the final out. He also hit a solo shot in the fourth inning to cut New York’s lead to 2-0. The Mets tied a team record for most home runs allowed in a game.
Michael A. Taylor had four hits, including a home run. Jack Suwinski and Yasmani Grandal also hit hard for the Pirates, who have struggled to generate offense for much of the season, the main reason Pittsburgh is below .500 (42-45) despite a starting rotation that has the lowest earned run average in the National League since June 1.
Skenes hasn’t been particularly sharp early, but he’s retired 11 of his last 12 batters to bolster his chances of making the National League All-Star team when pitchers and reserves are named this weekend.
“I would love to be there,” Skenes said. “But obviously it’s not up to me to make that decision.”
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
News Source : www.espn.com
Gn sports
