Ryan O'Hearn Hits Three Home Runs, Drives in 10 Runs for Pirates in 12-4 Win

Ryan O'Hearn hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 12-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on July 7. O'Hearn connected for a grand slam in the first inning off starter Hurston Waldrep, a three-run homer in the third off Waldrep and another three-run shot in the sixth off reliever Connor Thomas. The outburst gave the Pirates their third straight victory.

The 10 RBIs set a Pittsburgh single-game record, surpassing the mark of nine established by Johnny Rizzo on May 30, 1939. O'Hearn's total also stood as the highest by any player in the 2026 season through that date. He finished with four hits and became the 11th player since 1920 to hit at least three home runs and drive in 10 runs in one game, the first since Shohei Ohtani accomplished the feat against Miami in September 2024.

The sixth-inning homer marked the 100th of O'Hearn's nine-year career. Signed to a two-year contract by the Pirates in the 2025-2026 offseason, O'Hearn entered the game with 16 home runs for the season, one shy of his career high of 17 set in 2025. "Got some good pitches to hit and after the third one I was like, 'Oh man, no kidding?

I guess today's supposed to be my day,'" O'Hearn said. The Pirates lost rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin to a left hand injury that will sideline him for two months. Manager Don Kelly kept O'Hearn in the lineup for the ninth inning despite a comfortable lead, allowing him a chance at a fourth homer.

Braves infielder Jorge Mateo, a friend of O'Hearn, entered to pitch and induced a single. Paul Skenes earned his first win in nearly two months, allowing two runs and eight hits over six innings with one walk and four strikeouts. His fastball velocity remained in the 97-98 mph range.