Pirates open, close appropriately to down Rockies in series finale

How the Pirates handled the Colorado Rockies on Thursday was a bit of an open-and-shut case.

They used two openers to set up Carmen Mlodzinski, then hung a touchdown on the Rockies to close it out and earn a series victory on Thursday at PNC Park by a score of 7-2.

Pittsburgh amassed nine hits through three innings and finished with 12 for the game. Ryan O’Hearn had three, including a two-run homer in a three-run first. Konnor Griffin, Endy Rodriguez and Jared Triolo each had two.

Their opener strategy worked, and the offense continued to produce.

"I think [Wednesday] was a tough game to lose," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "We've talked about it throughout the season, being able to bounce back. To come up in the first inning, set the tone like that and put three across, I think that was a big key."

The strategy

On the mound, Mason Montgomery assumed his familiar opener role, leading Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer (Vandergrift) to stack his right-handed hitters atop the lineup.

So, Kelly doubled down and used Evan Sisk to follow Montgomery, setting up Mlodzinski for a righty-heavy pocket starting in the third inning.

It worked.

Montgomery and Sisk allowed one hit, no runs and struck out four. Meanwhile, Mlodzinski allowed two earned runs over five innings, turning things over to the other half of the bullpen to close out the win.

“It's the mindset and the attitude and how they go about it,” Kelly said. “Carmen, he's come out of the 'pen before, but he's been starting all year. So, to take that mindset out to the 'pen and come in in the middle of the game in both outings, he's been really, really good. Really efficient."

Among other takeaways ...

O’Hearn has sprung back to life over the past two games, totaling five hits. It’s obvious what he means to this lineup. It was also good to see Triolo get involved with a pair singles, one driving in a run, and a walk. Triolo entered Thursday's game hitting just .211.

The Pirates (24-20) improved to 45-27 (.625) against Colorado since the beginning of the 2014 campaign, winning or splitting 11 of 12 series during that time. This season, the Pirates are now 8-5-1 in series play.

The Pirates wasted little time attacking Rockies starter Chase Dollander, scoring three times in the bottom of the first. Bryan Reynolds knocked in the first of those with his line-drive single to left, the outfielder connecting on a hanging curve to open the at-bat.

O’Hearn, who hit his first home run since April 28 on Wednesday, delivered a two-run blast on a fastball over the middle of the plate, driving it 413 to center for his seventh of the season.

It marked the first time O’Hearn has homered in back-to-back games since April 16-17 against Cleveland (when he was with the Orioles).

O’Hearn credited the Pirates hitting department for his recent uptick in production, saying the group noticed his setup was off. He then got super specific, which was fascinating to hear.

“I was two inches wider,” O’Hearn said. “My hands were closer to my head. My left foot was turned like six degrees closer to the third-base dugout. I needed to be setup more toward the pitcher. I was just off. Part of it. Part of the season. I’m glad they caught it when they did.”

The Pirates doubled their lead in the third thanks to four more hits, including a two-run single from Rodriguez, playing his first Major League game since June 6, 2025. With the bases loaded, Rodriguez lined a first-pitch heater to center, scoring two.

Two batters later, Oneil Cruz’s grounder to short scored another run. Colorado answered in thanks to a two-run double from right fielder Troy Johnston, but that was it. Triolo’s RBI single rounded out the scoring.

Big-picture talk

The Pirates yet again showed they have an offense that can contend, a deeper group general manager Ben Cherington said before the game felt connected.

They’ve now scored seven or more runs in 13 of their 44 games, roughly 30%.

“Yeah, we score runs,” O’Hearn said, when asked whether he thought this is what it would be like when he signed here.

One of the Pirates’ veteran leaders then took things a step further when he was asked whether he thought this was sustainable, if the Pirates could indeed compete.

“Do I think it’s a contending team? Yes. 100%.”

Carmen’s day

Mlodzinski maybe could’ve gone longer, but Kelly turned things over to Dennis Santana in the eighth. Four hits and three walks led to the two runs allowed for Mlodzinski, who struck out two.

It wasn’t his best outing of the season, but Mlodzinski certainly gave the Pirates a chance to win the game. The right-hander threw 45 of his 76 pitches for strikes.

"I thought it was fine,” Mlodzinski said. “I was efficient again, feel like I could have kept going there but just gave us a chance to win, just picked off of what Sisk and Montgomery had."

Rodriguez returns

It took a long road back, but Rodriguez made up for lost time in a hurry, lining a low slider into right field for a double in his first at-bat. It was the first double at this level for Rodriguez since June 4, 2025.

“[Wednesday] I thought I was gonna be more nervous,” Rodriguez said. “But then I got on the bus, and I was ready to swing the bat.”

If Joey Bart is going to miss extended time with his left foot infection – Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said pregame they were still determining what effect a round of antibiotics had – it’ll be interesting to see if Rodriguez can push for time.

He’s a switch hitter with power. Rodriguez also isn’t shoehorned into the catching role. He can handle the position. He’s athletic, knows how to call a game and has been plenty pleased with his blocking, receiving and throwing this season.

It was a tall task for Rodriguez, catching five pitchers in his 2026 season debut. But that hardly seemed like too much for him.

"The last couple years, as we know, dealing with the injuries and the way that he's gone through it and gone about it with the attitude that he has, the energy, he's so positive," Kelly said. "It's really cool to see him have that game.

"To come up and hit the ground running, couple hits, played really well defensively, caught the ball well and called a good game."

Around the horn

Konnor Griffin stole second in the third inning. He’s now 10 for 10 in stolen-base attempts, the best run for a Pirates rookie since Chase d’Arnaud nabbed 11 in a row successfully back in 2011. … Dollander exited the game two batters into the second inning with what the team described as right arm tightness. … Montgomery has now made 12 consecutive scoreless appearances since April 10. … Sisk dropped his ERA to 0.68 with 15 strikeouts and a .140 (6 for 43) batting average against in his last 11 games.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@post-gazette.com and @JMackey_PGH.