The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped the first game of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, losing 10-3. However, they bounced back with a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates put in a solid performance, with contributions from multiple players. Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to 19 games, and Oneil Cruz hit a 445-foot home run into the Allegheny River in right field.
111.6 MPH off the bat of Oneil Cruz into the Allegheny! pic.twitter.com/CRxz7jCUfq
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2024
Rookie pitcher Jared Jones continued his impressive season, pitching seven strong innings despite a depleted bullpen. He allowed only three hits and three walks, resulting in two earned runs while striking out eight. This earned him his fifth win of the season.
Colin Holderman, one of the top late-game options in baseball, picked up his 16th hold of the season, maintaining a 0.68 ERA after another scoreless appearance. Aroldis Chapman closed out the game with David Bednar unavailable. Despite allowing one run, Chapman secured his second save of the season.
In doing so, Chapman became part of a rare occurrence. According to OptaSTATS on X, the Pittsburgh Pirates achieved something on Saturday afternoon that hasn’t been done in nearly 54 years. They had a player aged 36 or older record a save and hit a triple (Andrew McCutchen), and a player 22 or younger record a win in the same game. The last time this happened was on August 12, 1970, by the San Francisco Giants, with 40-year-old Don McMahon earning the save, 39-year-old Willie Mays hitting a triple, and 20-year-old Don Carrithers recording the win.
The Pirates had only five hits in the game but made them count. Their pitching staff has been outstanding all season, keeping them competitive. Achieving rare feats like Saturday’s will always be welcome as long as the team continues to win, which is crucial given the tight National League playoff picture.
The @Pirates are the 1st team to have 36+ year old's record a save (Aroldis Chapman) and 3B (Andrew McCutchen) while a 22 year old (or younger) recorded the win (Jared Jones) since the Giants on August 12, 1970:
SV – Don McMahon (40)
3B – Willie Mays (39)
W – Don Carrithers (20) pic.twitter.com/hyAXsD8Fha— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 22, 2024
