Paul Skenes had the perfect deadpan response to teammate Ryan O’Hearn’s historic three-homer, 10-RBI night that powered the Pirates to a 12-4 rout of Atlanta on Tuesday.
The Pirates ace called O’Hearn “selfish” for his record-breaking performance.
“I think it was kinda selfish, to be honest,” Skenes told reporters after the game. “Everybody else is getting on. Home runs are rally killers. You hit a 3-run home run or a grand slam, and it’s just like, what now? There’s nobody on. Nobody can drive him in. Good for him, I guess.”
“I think it was kinda selfish, to be honest. Everybody else is getting on. Home runs are rally killers. You hit a 3- run home run or a grand slam…and what now? There’s nobody on. Nobody can drive him in. Good for him, I guess.”
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Skenes was obviously joking around – poking fun at how O’Hearn’s homers kept ending innings before bigger rallies could develop. The former LSU star seems to prefer manufactured runs over the long ball.
What makes this even better is that O’Hearn’s explosion helped Skenes snap a lengthy winless streak. The right-hander hadn’t recorded a victory since May 12, despite consistently delivering quality starts over nearly two months.
Skenes tossed six innings of two-run ball and struck out four to finally get back in the win column.
Historic Night for O’Hearn
O’Hearn’s performance was legitimately special. He started with a grand slam in the first inning off Hurston Waldrep, driving a 1-1 curveball deep into the right-field stands.
The slugger wasn’t done. He took Waldrep deep again in the third inning, this time sending a three-run blast to center field on another off-speed pitch.
Then came the record-breaker. With Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe on base in the sixth, O’Hearn jumped on a 3-1 count from reliever Connor Thomas and launched another homer into the right-field stands.
That final swing broke the Pirates’ single-game RBI record, surpassing Johnny Rizzo’s nine RBIs set back in 1939 against St. Louis.
O’Hearn’s 10 RBIs were the most by any player this season. He became just the 17th player in the modern era to drive in double-digit runs in one game. The final homer also happened to be the 100th of his MLB career.
All things considered, it was a pretty good night in Pittsburgh – even if Skenes thinks O’Hearn could’ve been a little less greedy with those rally-killing home runs.
