Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn Has Wild Game in Right Field
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates played an intense game vs. the San Francisco Giants and right fielder Ryan O'Hearn was right in the middle of it.
O'Hearn made some really good plays in right field, but also made two big mistakes at the end of the game, which led to the winning run for the Giants in the 7-6 defeat for the Pirates in extra innings in the series finale at Oracle Park on May 10.
He dropped a fly ball from Giants third baseman Matt Chapman that he should've caught, which would've made it two outs, but instead just missed it and it ended up a double, moving Heliot Ramos from second base to third base.
"Fighting the sun the whole way," O'Hearn said postgame on SportsNet Pittsburgh. "That's like the only ball that the sun was involved to my left, up high like that, and when I got close to it, I'm kind of trying to stay on the side of it to try to keep it out of the sun there and then just didn't make the play.
O'Hearn then slowed down on a single from catcher Jesus Rodriguez, but Ramos hadn't started running home yet and scored after O'Hearn threw it to catcher Henry Davis at the plate.
"Come in, ball lands, then I field it, and you'd assume that the guy would be going," O'Hearn said on that play. "I guess he went back and tagged by the time I noticed and it was too late.”
I could not think of a worse ending for a defender on back-to-back plays. O'Hearn easily has a shot on the play at the plate if he comes up immediately throwing pic.twitter.com/EllGogoru7
— Nate Schwartz (@_nateschwartz) May 11, 2026
Ryan O'Hearn Having Solid Season in Right Field
While it was a tough inning for O'Hearn in right field, he had a strong showing defensively throughout.
He made six catches in the game, including two great grabs later on, both helping the Pirates get to extra innings.
Chapman hit a ball to short right field that O'Hearn slid and made the out on, which held both base runners for the second out of the bottom of the eighth inning.
O'Hearn then made the final out of the bottom of the ninth inning, jumping up and catching a ball at the right field wall from second baseman Luis Arraez.
ROH making it look easy. https://t.co/bDhCqLgXT5 pic.twitter.com/61a0qwS57R
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 10, 2026
O'Hearn is in his first full season in right field, after primarily playing first base, and starting just 77 games in 101 contest in the corner outfield spot the first eight seasons of his career from 2018-25.
He has -1 defensive runs saved (DRS) and +1 outs above average (OAA) in right field for the Pirates and he's played well in this new role, rarely making serious mistakes and improving consistently.
"You go and you try to make every play," O'Hearn said on his work in right field. "The effort's there, obviously. I’ve been working hard trying to improve defensively. I feel like I'm a good outfielder for the most part. Really one play there that I wish I would have made, but it is what it is."
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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.