PITTSBURGH -- Pirates first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn was activated from the injured list ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Minnesota and immediately made his presence known.
On the fifth pitch he saw, O’Hearn ripped a shot into the right-field seats to give the Pirates the early lead. Pittsburgh never relinquished the advantage as it went on to defeat the Twins, 9-3, and earn the series sweep.
“I asked him, ‘Is it that easy?’” manager Don Kelly joked postgame. “...He's a professional hitter.”
O’Hearn had been placed on the IL on May 17 after suffering a right quad muscle strain against the Phillies on May 16. Konnor Griffin (right forearm strain) was placed on the 10-day IL as the corresponding move on Sunday.
“You want to make an impact when you come back from a rehab assignment or anything," O'Hearn said, "so I hadn't seen live pitching, but confident in my abilities. I felt it good in the cage and stuff, so [it was] cool to have it translate in the first at-bat like that.”
O’Hearn made steady progress throughout Pittsburgh’s homestand to end May, working on cone drills in the outfield on Monday and running the bases on Friday. He had already been taking infield and on-field batting practice with the team. O’Hearn was originally expected to take around a month to return from injury, but only needed two weeks.
O’Hearn was a key offseason acquisition for Pittsburgh, signing a two-year, $29 million contract to fill a role in the middle of the order. In 44 games before injury, O’Hearn batted .289 with an .827 OPS while tallying seven home runs and 29 RBIs.
The two-week break from action was O’Hearn’s first IL stint since he landed on the COVID-19 IL in 2020. He said he was “champing at the bit” to be back, though taking a step back and watching the team allowed him to appreciate how good of a squad they have.
O'Hearn was the first Pirates player on the field to warm up before Sunday. The Pirates' lineup emerged just minutes before game time. A flurry of moves between the injured and restricted lists caused some sudden chaos. Then Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft took the mound and calmness settled in.
Ashcraft continued his stellar season by allowing just two runs in six innings and striking out a career-high 11 batters. Pittsburgh added on after O’Hearn’s homer in the second inning as Jared Triolo drove in Oneil Cruz with an RBI single.
The Bucs doubled their lead in the bottom of the third when Nick Gonzales blasted his first home run of the season, his first since July 28, 2025, and his first at PNC Park since June 6, 2024. Brandon Lowe added on in the fifth inning with a single to make it 5-0. The Pirates continued to tack on runs as they knocked Twins starter Zebby Matthews out of the game.
O'Hearn later laced a single to the opposite field in the sixth inning, but a five-run fifth inning had already done plenty of damage as Ashcraft held Minnesota down and the bullpen had plenty of room to work with O’Hearn’s power back in the lineup.