PITTSBURGH -- Rafael Flores Jr. was called up on Wednesday after being added to the taxi squad the day prior, expected to add some catching depth.
Fast forward to Thursday, and Flores was thrown into the fire himself.
The catcher belted his first career Major League home run on Thursday in the bottom of the fifth inning, 440 feet to dead center. Flores' dinger got the scoring started for Pittsburgh, the first of four runs in the frame. But it wasn’t enough as the Pirates fell, 8-6, to the Dodgers in the series finale.
“That kind of started the whole rally, and I just want to do that the rest of the year,” Flores said. “If I can make a quick spark and spark up the whole offense -- that's how you win ballgames.”
Flores, the Pirates' No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was added to the taxi squad to be activated when Henry Davis going on the paternity list. When Endy Rodríguez experienced left-hip discomfort in Wednesday night’s game, Flores entered to catch the final few innings and worked a walk.
He then started Thursday’s game behind the plate, batting eighth. After working another walk in his first at-bat, Flores belted the homer off Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski.
“As far as I know, they're pitching me like I am Aaron Judge,” Flores said of his mindset at the plate. “So I keep taking my walks, and I'm going to keep crushing pitches that are mistakes, and we're going to go from there.”
Pirates reliever Wilber Dotel attempted to catch Statcast-projected 440-foot homer with a cone in the bullpen. Flores said he didn’t retrieve the ball, and he thought it went over the bullpen.
Flores’ first long ball came just one night after rookie Tyler Callihan belted his first two career homers. Callihan -- who hit his first big league triple on Thursday -- was unable to get the first home run ball as it went into the Allegheny River, but he was able to secure the second after signing a few autographs.
Flores is in his second stint in the Major Leagues with Pittsburgh, after he debuted on Sept. 17, 2025, and made it into seven games. In addition to the homer on Thursday, he also raked an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to spur another comeback effort, but it was too late.
“I'm glad I'm here," Flores said. "I'm glad I'm able to produce, and I just got to stay healthy and keep going."