It may have been missed amid the cold weather, the dominant outing from Paul Skenes, the 10 opposite-field hits for the Pirates or the bounce-back effort they provided with a 7-1 victory over the Padres.
But on Tuesday at PNC Park, the future officially arrived. Or least a couple of hugely important Pittsburgh pieces officially clicked into place with Skenes and Konnor Griffin playing their first MLB game together.
Skenes delivered a quality start and earned the win with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Griffin collected a pair of hits, drove in two runs and continued to play excellent defense at shortstop, proving he belongs.
“I was fired up,” Skenes said of playing with Griffin for the first time in a Major League game. “He’s a difference-maker, for sure.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Griffin added. “The way he competes on the mound, it fires us up. We want to get runs for him because he’s gonna dominate every time we go out there.”
They’re former top prospects and mature beyond their years. Old souls in a way, too. Their arrivals have been met with much excitement and fanfare, Skenes and Griffin charged with charting a new era of Pirates baseball.
They also haven’t backed down from the challenge. This represented the first of what should be a bunch of games together. And it was that much more special that they each played their part.
“When a guy throws like that, you have to score runs for that man,” Griffin said. “That was an awesome win. Everybody did their job. Glad to be a part of it.”
Now for my nine observations:
1. We’ll start with Skenes because, well, where else would it make sense to start? It was a cold night, just 42 degrees at first pitch, but Skenes turned up the heat.
Fifty-eight of his 87 pitches were four-seam fastballs or sinkers, including 15 of 16 in the first inning. The game plan was effective, as Skenes struck out six and generated eight whiffs.
Asked why he stuck with the hard stuff, Skenes had a simple answer: “It was working.” Fair enough.
2. Skenes was a little meh on his outing, believing he should’ve thrown more strikes. He walked two and hit a batter. But the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner also may be a harsh critic. The Padres have a darn good offense, and Skenes carried a no-hitter into the sixth.
The only run San Diego scored was shortstop Xander Bogaerts homer -- 383 feet on a four-seamer up and in. Whatever. Skenes has now dropped his ERA to 5.25 after allowing two earned runs in 11 1/3 innings over his past two starts.
“I felt pretty good,” Skenes said. “I wouldn’t say great. I wouldn’t say bad. It was solid all around. I think the line’s probably a little bit better than [the performance], but I’m happy with it.”
3. The Pirates finished with a dozen hits in this game, and 10 went to the opposite field. Yes, seriously. The only two that didn’t came from Griffin. Maybe his email account hasn’t been set up yet.
Nick Gonzales joked that the weather was to blame; it’s harder to pull pitches when it’s cold. On a more serious note, Padres pitchers seemed to be attacking the Pirates outside. They smartly kept taking what was given, sticking with their approach.
Extremely mature stuff from the offense.
“It’s winning baseball,” Skenes said. “It’s good to see, just playing the game the right way. Playing offense and handing it off to the next guy. That was fun to watch today. It’s been fun to watch.”
4. The big inning came in the eighth, when the Pirates pushed across five runs to blow this one open. Gonzales started it with a two-run single to right, then Jake Mangum drove in another run by riding a low-and-away changeup the other way.
Griffin broke the trend by hitting an absolute laser, pulling a middle-away sinker at 113.2 mph to score two more.
5. It was his only hit in the game, but don’t forget Oneil Cruz’s double in the fifth. Two runs scored. Until the eighth, it was the only offense the Pirates could muster, as Nick Pivetta was really good.
Just four MLB hitters have more RBIs than Cruz (12), who’s also tied for sixth in baseball in total bases (26).
6. Smaller play, but I loved it: Third inning, Henry Davis hit a ball to right that should’ve been caught. Instead of assuming and jogging to first, Davis sprinted out of the box and wound up at second. Replay that one for your kids.
7. Griffin might be settling in after an 0-for-12 stretch following his double in the home opener. The at-bats were really good. His defense has been his biggest weapon. And it’s fun to watch Griffin’s incredible speed live.
On his infield single in the fifth, Griffin posted a sprint speed of 30.2 feet per second. Not only is that the best on the Pirates this season, but it’s the fastest throughout MLB. Griffin owns the top four sprint speeds for a Pirates player in 2026.
“It's game-changing when you see him get going like that down the line and to be able to score on some of those balls,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said.
8. Nobody doubts Griffin’s talents. But the attention and pressure at 19 can understandably be a lot. It looks like he’s finally getting to enjoy the game, to be himself and appreciate this for what it is.
Griffin is the exact opposite of a look-at-me player, though he does play the game with flair. When you see him hitting balls hard, using his speed, playing defense … it’s usually a pretty good sign.
“It’s one of the most important things I’ve been trying to do -- just enjoy everything, take it in,” Griffin said. “It’s been fun to do that.
“Getting back to [being a baseball player] has been great. I’m in there consistently. I feel like I’m getting the reps. I get to wake up every day knowing I’m playing baseball. There’s something about it. You get in a good flow. The baseball player in me just comes out.”
9. I’ll have to owe Skenes one on the final observation. But I’m also not about to get in his way. He said it better than I ever could.
“We have a long way to go, but I’m excited to see what it turns into,” Skenes said. “I don’t even think we’re playing our best baseball yet, which is scary to think about. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.