Weekly Report: Home Split, Injury Yo-Yo's, Team Marks, Hammer O'Hearn & the Magician Esmerlyn, Braxton & Bubba Sharp, All-Era, Legacy Hall, Exes Moves

• Spencer Horwitz was removed early in Wednesday’s game with left hamstring discomfort. And ouch, the next day, the Pirates placed him on the 10-day IL due to the strained left hammy; he’s expected to miss “weeks, not days” per BC. IF Jack Brannigan was recalled from Altoona to fill his spot on the roster for a sec until Konnor Griffin came back. 
• Konnor Griffin (elbow strain) began his rehab at Altoona on Wednesday after missing three weeks plus of June with the injury. He homered and tripled for the Curve, returned to Pittsburgh the next day and was back on the roster on Friday. Oh, and homered on the first pitch he saw…
• Wilber Dotel (lat) began his rehab stint with Altoona on Saturday. He worked an inning, looked uncomfortable on the bump and now is in Pgh where he will be evaluated.
• Brandon Lowe became the second Pirate 2B all-time to have a 20+ HR season, joining Neil Walker (23 HR in 2014).
• Oneil Cruz isn’t expected back in action until after the All-Star break.

Braxton Ashcraft – June 2026/Sportsnet.Pgh

• Ray Miller would be proud: Braxton Ashcraft is the first Pirates pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1901) to have two games with 10 or more strikeouts and no walks in the same season. He had 10 K v the M’s on Wednesday and 11 against the Twins on 5/31 with no free passes. Other Pirates pitchers to do that deed during their career are Paul Skenes, Gerrit Cole and (who woulda guessed?) Bob Veale.
• Bryan Reynolds’ 17-game hitting streak ended Sunday, but two walks extended his on-base streak to 33, fourth all-time for the franchise. The Bucco record is 37 straight games, set by Jay Bell in 1993.
• Seth Hernandez, who has split his time between Bradenton & Greensboro, became the first minor leaguer to post 100 K this year. It took him 14 starts-62-1/3 IP to hit the century mark.
• Bradenton RHP Levi Sterling was selected as the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. He was recognized for his six-inning no-run, two-hit, four-K outing against Clearwater. The 19-year-old was 4-3/4.14 coming into this week.
• The Pirates opened Legacy Hall at PNC Park during this week’s homestand, featuring memorabilia that the team and players collected over the years. It’s located off Federal Street by the Willie Stargell statue and open for fans; it’ll also be used as a Park tour starting point & as a rental facility.

Game Stuff:

• Mitch Keller gave them six good innings, yielding just a run. Don Kelly tried to get a seventh frame out of him, but Mariner/North Allegheny HS grad Cole Young banged a two-run homer off Kells, and that was all she wrote in a 3-2 loss at PNC. The Bucs had nine hits; the M’s chipped in three walks and three errors, leading to nine stranded Buccos; Jake Mangum managed to get caught stealing and picked off. 
• Didn’t look that great at the start; Braxton Ashcraft was tagged for three straight singles to open the game and the Bucs didn’t have a knock until the fourth frame. But Brax & the bats loosened up; Ashcraft only gave up two more hits and fanned 10 in six IP while the Pirates put up a five-spot in the fourth, running away with an 11-1 decision. Ryan O’Hearn had four hits and three RBI & Endy Rodriguez also chased home three runs with two raps.

Ryan O’Hearn – June 2026/Pirates photo

• Bubba wasn’t at his sharpest, but still put up 5-1/3 IPs with just a run surrendered despite five hits and three walks. The bullpen dodged a couple of figurative raindrops – Seattle stranded 11 runners – and behind Hank Davis’ homer, double, two RBI and two runs scored plus a Brandon Lowe bomb, the Pirates prevailed 5-1.
• Welp. Konnor was back and at leadoff v the Reds, and welcome home – he homered on the first pitch. But Paul Skenes, a Cincy killer most days. ran into a rough second, as five straight Reds reached base and four scored. Then Paul returned to regular programming and behind back-to-backs by Marcell Ozuna and Esmerlyn Valdez, it was 4-4 after sixth.But the bats ran out of steam, the pen gave up a late blast, and the Reds took the opener 6-4.
• After some raindrops fell, the game started a lil’ late, but the Reds didn’t mind; they were up 2-0 early, until Brandow Lowe banged a three-run shot to take the lead. But Jared Jones couldn’t get through the fifth and left a 4-4 game; the pen gave up a pair in the sixth to make it 6-4 Cincy. Pittsburgh tied it in the seventh, and in the eighth Esmerlyn the Magician Valdez put the Bucs ahead 7-6 with a solo bomb. But yah, bullpen – Gregory Soto gave up a two-out, two-strike, three-run blast to Eugenio Suarez to fall behind again 9-7, and that’s how it ended.

Tyler Callihan – June 2006/Pirates

• Tyler Callihan’s three-run bomb put Mitch Keller and the Bucs up 4-0 early on. The Reds got a pair back in the fourth; the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in their half but couldn’t score, a pretty frustrating recent theme. Cincy tied it in the fifth; Ryan O’Hearn untied it with a solo shot. Pittsburgh loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh; again they scored no runs. A rain delay was followed by Ryan O putting the game away with a three-run, eighth-inning blast after Carmen Mlodzinski bent but didn’t break, tossing two goose eggs, and the Pirates took a 9-4 decision. Esmerlyn Valdez also went deep.
• Not much rest for the Buccos – next up are four contests in Philly starting Monday, then a three-game set at Washington.

• SABR picked its Segregation Era All-Time team (1920-46), and it’s loaded with Bucs, Grays and Crawfords: https://sabr.org/all-time-eras-teams/segregation-era/ 
• OF Jared Oliva was claimed by the New York Mets after being DFA’ed by the San Fran Giants.
• The Cubs claimed RHP Bryse Wilson from the Phils and placed him on the MLB roster.
• SS Tsung-Che Cheng was called up by the Boston Red Sox. He got a cup of coffee with the Bucs last year, was DFA’ed in the off-season and been with four different organizations since then.
• The Rangers have signed LHP Marco Gonzales to a minor league deal. He last pitched in the show in 2024 for the Pirates with a 1-1/4.54 line in seven starts; most of his season was spent on the IL, followed by off-season surgery.
• Tommy Pham’s journey continues; he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, his third organization of the season.
• The Mariners optioned utility guy Connor Joe to AAA Tacoma; he was hitting .179 for Seattle.
• 40-year old 1B Carlos Santana was released by the D-Backs after completing rehab. He only got into eight games for ‘Zona before going on the IL in early April. He was claimed by the Braves and signed a minor league deal.
• RHP Tyler Beede, who tossed here in 2022 (2-5/5.13, 25 games) declared for free agency. His last MLB gig was briefly in Clevelend in ’24.