The Pirates hit three home runs in their 4-1 win over the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, tied for third-most they've hit in a game this season.
Esmerlyn Valdez's two-run home runin the sixth was a big one -- it was his first hit of his career, and drove up the score in a 2-1 game. But the two homers before were meaningful in their own right.
Spencer Horwitz hit a home run on the very first pitch of the game, making him only the sixth on the team to accomplish that since 2021:
The Pirates needed that early lead after finding offense hard to come by in the first two games of this series. And it meant a lot to Horwitz, too, to have that moment in his first series back against his former team.
"Definitely one of my favorite homers so far," Horwitz said after. "To be able to do it back here, to do it with a team that I’m wanted on is definitely great. It seemed to get the guys going a little bit this morning."
Oneil Cruz entered this game having struggled as of late. He had four hits and one RBI in his last seven games. He only hit one home run in the first 20 games in the month of May. And so for him to open the second inning with a home run of his own was big, and meaningful on a personal level as well:
"Yeah, huge swings right there," Don Kelly said of the home runs, both off Toronto starter Dylan Cease. "Spence, first pitch of the game to hit the homer, and then Cruzy comes up in the second and adds another one on to get up 2-0 against a guy like Cease, the way he's been throwing the ball. Big swing from Cruz there."
THE ASYLUM
Horwitz, Cruz homer, too
The Pirates hit three home runs in their 4-1 win over the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, tied for third-most they've hit in a game this season.
Esmerlyn Valdez's two-run home run in the sixth was a big one -- it was his first hit of his career, and drove up the score in a 2-1 game. But the two homers before were meaningful in their own right.
Spencer Horwitz hit a home run on the very first pitch of the game, making him only the sixth on the team to accomplish that since 2021:
The Pirates needed that early lead after finding offense hard to come by in the first two games of this series. And it meant a lot to Horwitz, too, to have that moment in his first series back against his former team.
"Definitely one of my favorite homers so far," Horwitz said after. "To be able to do it back here, to do it with a team that I’m wanted on is definitely great. It seemed to get the guys going a little bit this morning."
Oneil Cruz entered this game having struggled as of late. He had four hits and one RBI in his last seven games. He only hit one home run in the first 20 games in the month of May. And so for him to open the second inning with a home run of his own was big, and meaningful on a personal level as well:
"Yeah, huge swings right there," Don Kelly said of the home runs, both off Toronto starter Dylan Cease. "Spence, first pitch of the game to hit the homer, and then Cruzy comes up in the second and adds another one on to get up 2-0 against a guy like Cease, the way he's been throwing the ball. Big swing from Cruz there."
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