Paul Skenes finally got some runs. And he responded the only way a guy with a sense of humor could: by calling the guy who got him those runs selfish.
The Pittsburgh Pirates crushed the Atlanta Braves 12-4 on Tuesday night, and the headline was Ryan O’Hearn. He went 4-for-5, hit three home runs, and drove in 10 runs. That’s 10 RBIs. In one game. No Pirate had ever done that before. The previous franchise record was nine, set by Johnny Rizzo way back in 1939.
O’Hearn’s night was absurd. Grand slam in the first inning. Three-run homer in the third. Another three-run shot in the sixth. That last one was also the 100th home run of his career, because of course it was. By the time he was done, the game wasn’t close and Skenes could actually breathe on the mound for once.
Skenes had been starving for support
The reigning NL Cy Young winner went six innings, allowed two runs on eight hits, and picked up his first win since May 12. That’s a brutal stretch. Pittsburgh had lost nine straight games when Skenes started. Nine. So when SportsNet Pittsburgh asked him about O’Hearn’s performance after the game, Skenes didn’t go with the standard teammate praise. He went another direction entirely.
“I think it was kind of selfish,” Skenes said, straight-faced. “Home runs are rally killers. Good for him, I guess.”
It was dry. It was deadpan. It was clearly a joke. The room laughed, and the clip went viral immediately. O’Hearn, for his part, took it in stride. Because what else can you do when your pitcher says your 10-RBI night was selfish?
The bigger picture for Pittsburgh
This win mattered beyond the box score. The Pirates have now won three in a row, and the lineup showed it can actually produce when Skenes is on the mound. That hasn’t been the case all season. For weeks, Skenes would leave games with a 2-1 deficit or a 3-2 lead that the bullpen couldn’t hold. Frustration was piling up.
Tuesday was a release valve. O’Hearn’s bat gave the team a cushion, the dugout had energy, and the postgame clubhouse was light. Skenes handled the quote perfectly. He didn’t need to gush. The numbers spoke for themselves. He just cracked a joke and let the night breathe.
The Pirates aren’t fixed. But for one night at PNC Park, they had an ace with a lead, a teammate with a historic stat line, and a clubhouse that could laugh about it. That counts for something.
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