The San Diego Padres will face former teammate Ryan O'Hearn tonight, and O'Hearn has been a game-changer in Pittsburgh.
When the San Diego Padres take the field tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they’ll see a familiar face on the other side of the field. Former Padres first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is part of a revamped Pirates offense that’s been surprisingly successful, and he’s been a big part of it.
The Pirates have scored eight runs in three games so far, and they’ve played just nine so far. They didn’t hit that numerical combination until their 24th game last year, and it’s part of the reason the Pirates will go into this one with a 6-3 record.
“I know the offense wasn't great last year, but this is a completely new team with a completely new lineup,” O’Hearn said in a story written by Jason Mackey of MLB.com. “Forget about whatever happened the last few years. I don't care about that. This team is a good team. I'm excited to show up to work every day and go to battle with these guys.”
Yesterday’s game provided a pretty good example of what the Pirates can do when O’Hearn is mashing. The Pirates thumped the Baltimore Orioles, 8-2, and O’Hearn had four RBIs as he hit his third home run of the year.
The Pirates are averaging five runs a game, so the Padres will have a tough task containing O’Hearn and friends, especially with struggling starter German Marquez on the mound for the series opener. Pittsburgh has also homered 12 times so far to rank third in MLB, so this isn’t the anemic offenses we’ve seen for the last few seasons. They’re tied for sixth in runs with 45, and their slugging percentage of .399 and OPS .736 both rank seventh.
Moreover, O’Hearn has been a “seamless fit,” according to Mackey, since the Pirates signed him in free agency after the Padres passed on re-signing O'Hearn. This isn’t surprising to Padres fans, but the writer also raved about his personality, how much his teammates like and respect him, and O’Hearn’s performance so far, which is helping to transform this team.
“Feels good to put points on the board early in the game,” O’Hearn said about his big game that completed a series sweep of the Orioles yesterday. “Sweeps in this league are really hard, and I think if you can go out there and kind of give 'em a gut punch and go up early, it makes it a lot easier.”
O’Hearn has 11 hits and 11 RBIs in his first eight games in Pittsburgh, and he’s currently hitting .367 with a 1.159 OPS as a result of his hot start. Only ten players in MLB have more than 21 total bases, Mackey noted.
Pirates starter Braxton Ashcroft is an O’Hearn believer, and he says the former Padres is changing Pittsburgh’s culture, which is something the team has needed for a while now.
“It starts with Ryan O’Hearn,” Ashcraft said when asked about yesterday being a team win. “He came in this year and set a precedent. He leads by example in how he plays the game, how he hustles and conducts himself day in and day out. It’s contagious.
“When you show up to work every day and see the people around you putting in the work, it forces you to either run the race with them or fall way behind. I think that everybody is stepping up to that challenge.”