Pirates Excitement Growing With Big Win in Konnor Griffin’s Debut
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates opened up their home slate in 2026 with a big debut from Konnor Griffin and an important victory too.
Griffin started at shortstop and helped the Pirates earn a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the home opener at PNC Park, with a sellout crowd of 38,986 fans in attendance.
The Pirates have won four of their past five games, improving to 4-3 on the season, as they took the series finale vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 28 and beat the Cincinnati Reds in the recent series, March 31-April 1, 8-3 in the last two games.
Pittsburgh ends two straight losses in home openers, as they fell 5-2 to the Orioles in 2024 and 9-4 to the New York Yankees in 2025.
How Konnor Griffin Did in his MLB Debut
Griffin didn't just make history by playing in his first game for the Pirates, he also had a few important at-bats as well.
He started at shortstop and touched second base for a force out in the first inning and then turned a double play with second baseman Brandon Lowe in the second inning.
Griffin hit a double for his first MLB at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, which scored right fielder Ryan O'Hearn from first base, who ledoff with a walk, putting the Pirates up 1-0.
He took an 85 mph curveball on the outside corner from Orioles right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Bradish and sent it 105.8 mph off the bat and 369 feet to center field, easily giving O'Hearn enough time to score.
Griffin then showed off his incredible speed in the next at-bat, as third baseman Jared Triolo hit a single to right field, reaching as fast as 29.4 feet per second sprint speed, sliding head first to get in for the second run for the Pirates.
He would earn his first MLB walk in his next at-bat, leading off the bottom of the fourth inning with four walks on five pitches, with two getting close in on him that he had to back off of.
Griffin had a long at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, with two runners on and two outs. He ran a full count, even successfully challenging a third strike call with the ABS (Automated Balls and Strikes) system, but still struck out.
He then made a solid throw to first base off a ground ball for the second out in both the top of the sixth inning and seventh inning.
Griffin didn't have the desired result in his fourth at-bat, as he mde a half swing and hit it right back to Orioles right-handed relief pitcher Rico Garcia for the final out of the eighth inning.
Mitch Keller Has Another Strong Outing
The Pirates have a reliable veteran starting pitcher in right-hander Mitch Keller, who showed again that they need him to have a successful 2026 season.
Keller stayed consistent for the most part, giving up a few hits and walks, but throwing six innings and giving up just two earned runs for his second quality start of the campaign.
He threw four scoreless innings, before having some trouble in the top of the fifth inning, where he allowed a single to third baseman Blaze Alexander, struck out left fielder Taylor Ward and then giving up a double to shortstop Gunnar Henderson, with the Orioles scoring their first run of the game.
Keller struck out first baseman Pete Alonso, but allowed a double to catcher Adley Rutschman to score Henderson, as the Orioles cut the deficit to 4-2.
He threw 88 pitches in his outing, going mostly with his four-seam fastball and sinker for his higher velocity pitches and then his sweeper and changeup for his offspeed options.
Keller has a 1.50 ERA to start 2026 and the Pirates will surely be pleased with his output so far.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Sweeper | 23/88 (26%) | 82.1 mph |
Four-Seam Fastball | 23/88 (26%) | 93.5 mph |
Sinker | 21/88 (24%) | 92.8 mph |
Changeup | 17/88 (19%) | 89.5 mph |
Slider | 3/88 (3%) | 87.7 mph |
Curveball | 1/88 (1%) | 77.7 mph |
Second Inning Proves Crucial to Pirates Victory
Griffin helped start an important inning for the Pirates, where they took advantage of Brandish and added some extra runs.
Catcher Henry Davis hit a double down the left field line, scoring Triolo all the way from first base and making it a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates made it a four-run advantage after center fielder Oneil Cruz hit a single to left field, which brought Davis home.
Pittsburgh would get one more run in the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as left fielder Bryan Reynolds walked, moved to second base on a walk from designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, got to third base on a wild pitch and then O'Hearn scored Reynolds on the sacrifice fly.
The Pirates have to keep hitting well, especially when they have opportunities, if they are going to try and reach their ultimate goal of making it to the postseason.
Bullpen Closes Door on Orioles
Pirates right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramírez struggled in his short outing, giving up a single to Alexander, a double to Ward, making it a 5-3 game, then walking first baseman Pete Alonso.
Left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery came into the game and got a ground out and then struck out designated hitter Samuel Basallo to keep the Pirates up two runs.
The Pirates then got a scoreless eighth inning from right-handed reliever Dennis Santana and left-hander Gregory Soto came in and got the save to give his team their first home win of the campaign.
It wasn't a clean save, as Soto gave up a solo home run to Henderson to make it 5-4, but he still secured the win for the Pirates.
Montgomery's efforts proved vital for the Pirates in this victory, as their bullpen is a key component for playoff-contention.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.