9 postgame observations: After raucous atmosphere at PNC Park, Pirates players want to ‘earn that back’

Brandon Lowe didn’t know what to expect.

Prior to signing with the Pirates this offseason, the longtime member of the Tampa Bay Rays had played just two career games at PNC Park. He heard some things but wanted to see for himself how the atmosphere on the North Shore would feel.

Suffice to say, after the Pirates’ 5-4 victory against the Orioles in Friday’s home opener, Lowe wants more. A lot more. And he’s hardly alone.

“I wasn’t sure how Pirates fans really were,” said Lowe, who went one for three with a double and a walk. “They showed out [Friday]. That was incredible.”

The atmosphere created by 38,986 baseball-crazed Yinzers was a popular topic of conversation postgame, from how fans treated Konnor Griffin in his MLB debut to how players were cheered during introductions and the raucous atmosphere created.

“It kind of felt like a playoff crowd,” Mitch Keller said.

“Electric,” Ryan O’Hearn added. “They were loud and engaged.”

“I saw some traffic cones out there,” Paul Skenes said. “That made me happy.”

Fun stuff, right? But three words manager Don Kelly dropped in his postgame press conference resonated most with me: “Earn that back.”

You can probably infer what Kelly meant, but let’s start some postgame observations by digging a little deeper.

• Keller said he took a moment pregame to soak it all in, to appreciate the 180-degree difference from last year, to try and understand what fans were feeling.

The second-longest-tenured Pirate also told a story about walking in from the bullpen with Henry Davis, the two letting their minds drift.

“It felt like a playoff crowd," Keller said. "That’s something we strive for. ... I said to Henry, ‘Hey, man. This is what we play for. Let’s go. Let’s have some fun. We’ll revisit this crowd in October when we’re here.’"

• It wasn't just awe, however. There's also a responsibility felt on the part of players and coaches to get this right, the same as the front office, hence Kelly's directive to "earn that back."

“Put yourself in their shoes,” Lowe said. “They want a good product on the field. They want to support a team that’s winning. … That’s the goal in this clubhouse.

“If you put a great product on the field and win a lot of games, you have great support behind you. That was cool. Especially certain moments of the game, man, it got loud.”

Sure did. Over little stuff, too.

Like O’Hearn’s sacrifice fly in the fifth, a professional at-bat and the type of result that has lacked in those situations. Or Bryan Reynolds’ dirt-ball read a few pitches before. The challenge that Konnor Griffin won was obviously a big one — along with his second-inning double.

It’s precisely what those who packed PNC Park have been craving, the every-pitch-matters vibe, standing up with two strikes, appreciating baseball’s nuance and letting their voices be heard.

Message received, loud and clear.

“We have to earn the crowd that we had,” Keller said. “In the past, it always starts off electric. Everyone’s excited. But then it dwindles.

“We want these crowds every night. That’s on us. We have to earn that. We have to make the fans come out and watch us play.”

• Griffin was obviously the big story thanks to his run-scoring double in the second, run scored, walk and a few solid plays in the field. It was a solid game, but the story with him is bigger.

He is … no, was the best prospect in baseball, a five-tool talent who’s worth every ounce of the hype. The humility is real. He’s not overmatched. The goal now becomes cutting through the noise and simply playing baseball well. He can do that.

“Running onto the field and hearing my name called, everything was amazing,” Griffin said. “I tried to just be present. Couldn’t really feel my feet much. Just tried to be where my feet were and enjoy the moment.

“But when I go to bed at night, it’s time to flip the switch, to get ready for tomorrow’s game.”

• The dichotomy between the overall crowd noise and when Griffin stepped into the box was funny. It was time to focus, to lock it in. For Griffin and fans.

I also liked how Griffin adjusted on his double: 2-2 curveball middle-away, line drive at 105.8 mph to center field, a perfect piece of hitting.

Again, the issue with him isn’t readiness or ability. It’s getting comfortable, not pressing and being himself. Friday went a long way toward that.

• You saw Griffin walking down the tunnel at PNC Park with the cone over his shoulder, right? If not, find the video online. It’s worth your time.

The cone dynamic around here rocks. Reasonable-sized ones are allowed in the park. Some people turned them into hats. Others carried around smaller ones.

A really healthy and fun dynamic that has loosened this group up a bunch.

“This team’s awesome,” Griffin said. “We’re gonna do a lot of great things. Glad to be a part of it.”

• Griffin sparked a resurgence from the bottom of the order, which drove a four-run second. Jared Triolo finished with two hits and an RBI. Henry Davis smoked a double 112.3 mph down the left-field line. Much needed production from those guys.

Also, credit to third-base coach Tony Beasley for several smart, aggressive sends.

“That’s the type of baseball we’re gonna need to play,” Kelly said.

• The Pirates are falling into a fascinating trend in the eighth and ninth innings. It seems like it will be a fairly healthy split of opportunities between Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto.

On Friday, Santana breezed through the eighth, striking out Leody Taveras. Kelly saved Soto for the ninth because he wanted him to face Gunnar Henderson, who has some sizable splits: .675 OPS against lefties, .889 when facing right-handed pitching.

Henderson homered, ruining the plan, but the intent was right.

“Santana and Soto are both phenomenal back-end guys,” Kelly said. “We're gonna see them both in both innings."

• Another solid outing from Mitch Keller: six innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. Had seven whiffs. Threw four pitches between 17%-23% of the time. The balance was healthy. Keller just needs to reduce the four walks.

“We got ahead,” Keller said. “Henry called a really good game. I trusted him. Sinker was good. Got some double plays.

“There was some bad, too. Especially after the long inning, don’t wanna have leadoff walks and make an inning out of nothing. But overall pretty good.”

• We’ll likely wind up talking more about … well, talking. Fourth inning, Jeremiah Jackson batting, he flies a ball to right-center. O’Hearn was camped under it, but Oneil Cruz came running in.

Technically that’s the center fielder’s ball. But it’s the second time this week there’s been an issue like that. It also happened with Bryan Reynolds in Cincinnati. Loud crowd or not, the Pirates have to get this figured out.

“We need to clean that up as we go through the season because that was a playoff atmosphere,” Kelly said. “When you play in an atmosphere like that, you have to be loud. We've challenged Oneil with taking charge. He's got an absolute cannon. We just need to continue to communicate."

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.