Pittsburgh Pirates welcome fans back to PNC Park with win over Chicago White Sox

The Pirate faithful were loud and proud for the home opener, and Andrew McCutchen noticed.

"Thank you Pittsburgh. This meant the to me. You ARE the difference," he tweeted Friday night.

(AP) — Bryan Reynolds homered and drove in six runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated Andrew McCutchen's homecoming with a 13-9 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Reynolds hit a two-run homer in the third and a bases-clearing triple in the fifth. Reynolds popped up and raced home when the relay throw from Chicago second baseman Elvis Andrus skipped by third baseman Yoán Moncada. Reynolds' five home runs this season are the most by a Pirate through seven games since Hall of Famer Willie Stargell in 1971.

McCutchen, who signed a one-year deal in January to rejoin the team he starred for earlier in his career, went 2 for 5 in his first game at PNC Park as a member of the Pirates since September 2017.

The five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP received a loud ovation when he stepped to the plate in the first. Home plate umpire Ryan Wills, making an exception to MLB's new pitch-clock rules, allowing the 36-year-old McCutchen to take in the moment while fighting back tears.

McCutchen gathered himself and then laced a single to right field, one of 19 hits for the Pirates against five Chicago pitchers.

Connor Joe tied a career high with four hits. Reynolds, Ji Hwan Bae and Jason Delay had three hits each for Pittsburgh. Dauri Moreta (1-0) worked two scoreless innings to pick up his first major league win.

Luis Robert hit a pair of two-run homers for the White Sox. Oscar Colás added the first home run of his career in the ninth. Tim Anderson collected four hits and scored four times but Chicago was undone by another shaky pitching performance. The White Sox have allowed 12 or more runs in three of their last four games, dropping all three.

Lucas Giolito, who no-hit the Pirates in 2020, allowed seven runs and a career-high 12 hits in four innings. Jake Diekman (0-1) fared no better in relief. He retired the first batter he faced in the fifth before letting the next four batters reach, including a go-ahead single by Delay.

Jimmy Lambert came on to face Reynolds, who laced a shot to the right-field corner to send the Pirates to their fourth straight victory.

Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill struggled as the White Sox pounded the 43-year-old's variety of breaking pitches, most of which didn't break 75 mph. Hill gave up seven runs and eight hits — three of them homers — in four-plus innings.

ON THE MOVE

The White Sox designated longtime reliever José Ruiz for assignment and called up right-hander Jesse Scholtens from Triple-A Charlotte.

Ruiz, 28, struggled in four appearances with Chicago this season. He gave up multiple runs in each of his last three outings as his ERA ballooned to 22.04.

The 29-year-old Scholtens allowed one run in three innings in his major league debut.

UP NEXT

The series continues Saturday when Chicago's Mike Clevinger (1-0, 0.00 ERA) faces Vince Velasquez (0-1, 5.79 ERA). Clevinger threw five shutout innings against Houston in his debut with the White Sox last Sunday.

Before the home opener, the Pirates honored the families of fallen police officers Justin McIntire and Sean Sluganski.

McIntire was shot and killed in January in Brackenridge, while Sluganski was shot and killed one month later in McKeesport. His partner, Charles Thomas, was injured in the shooting. He was also at Friday's game.

A moment of silence was held before the game for the two families and Thomas.

Friday's home opener at PNC Park was a sellout, with 39,176 fans in attendance, according to Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette.

The echoes of that electric October night nearly a decade ago when PNC Park shook and the Pittsburgh Pirates exorcised a generation of futility remain fresh to Andrew McCutchen.

Johnny Cueto dropped the ball. Russell Martin homered and McCutchen and the Pirates celebrated a 2013 wild-card victory that rekindled a city's love affair with a franchise that spent decades in Major League Baseball's wilderness.

The veteran outfielder still holds the moment close. Just not too close. He's wary of getting too steeped in nostalgia, one of the reasons he's repeatedly stressed his second stint with the club that drafted him in 2005 and helped mold him into a five-time All-Star is not a farewell tour.

So consider the way McCutchen approached Friday's home opener against the Chicago White Sox - his first appearance at PNC Park as a member of the Pirates since Sept. 27, 2017 - as more of a history lesson.

There was McCutchen's mother Petrina singing the national anthem, just as she did before home playoff games nearly a decade ago.

There were Martin and A.J. Burnett - linchpins of the organization's brilliant if brief rebirth in the early 2010s - connecting on the first pitch.

There were thousands of fans clad in black at McCutchen's urging looking to recapture a feeling that's largely been gone since the cold January day in 2018 when McCutchen was traded to San Francisco. There were chants of "MVP!" when he stepped into the batter's box and a loud roar when his first at-bat ended with a sharp single up the middle.

The vibe provided a needed reminder of what once was. And a taste of what McCutchen believes can be once again.

"I just want to have some kind of hope," McCutchen said. "Even if it is something that happened 10 years ago. That's a moment in history that will forever be painted in my memory bank. Why not bring it back to life, even if it is back for a day?"

The goal of the organization and McCutchen - who signed a one-year deal worth $5 million in mid-January - is to find a way to put together a compelling product like the one the Pirates produced regularly from 2013-15 when they reached the playoffs three times with the then-dreadlocked McCutchen as the unquestioned charismatic leader.

The dreadlocks are long gone. And a decade removed from his 2013 NL MVP Award, McCutchen is more elder statesman than budding young star.

It's a role he's embracing, in part because he knows he doesn't have much choice. It comes with the territory when the stands are dotted with your familiar No. 22 jersey and your name is synonymous with the last period of success for a franchise that's coming off four straight last-place finishes in the NL Central.

Yes, McCutchen knows his primary job is to produce at the plate and occasionally on the field. Yet he's well aware that what he says and does off it could be just as important for a team that believes it is in the nascent stages of building a contender.

"I have an understanding of who I am as a person and a player and know the way I go about my business," he said. "I understand the weight that it carries behind."

Pirates second-year shortstop Oneil Cruz - all of 24 years old and every bit of 6-feet-7 - is the new face of the franchise, a StatCast-breaking phenom still trying to harness his considerable talent. If he needs help navigating the early stages of potential stardom, Cruz need only look across the clubhouse.

"Cruz is able to watch a guy that started his career here and how we transition," Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. "Cutch is able to answer questions about what we need to do, how we need to go about it."

The early returns are encouraging. The Pirates went 4-2 on a season-opening six-game road trip that included a sweep in Boston, tangible proof of the potential McCutchen saw when he was weighing whether to come back to Pittsburgh.

Still, it's early. McCutchen knows building from the ground up is a process. It took him eight years to go from first-round draft pick to National League Most Valuable Player. He's not in a hurry. If anything, he plans on appreciating his second go-round with the Pirates more than he did the first.

There was a palpable sense of relief when he breezed past the visitor's clubhouse shortly after getting to work on Friday. A welcome return to normalcy when he settled into the same locker hard against the entrance to the shower and the training room. A broad smile when the sellout crowd rose to its feet to celebrate a reunion once considered unthinkable.

Perhaps most of all, a peace that came with knowing he would drive home after the game to the house he shares with his wife Maria and their three children. No more explaining to them why Dad has to go away for work for long stretches. No more wondering about the connection he forged with a city well before they came along, a connection that could be entering a vibrant new chapter.

"There's no better feeling," McCutchen said. "It's cool. I have been here with no kids and I've been here with three. We're all in newfound territory for all of us. It's gonna be fun."

KDKA-TV's Falicia Woody has more on the impact weather has on home-opening games for the Pirates. 

In his return to PNC Park in Pirates gear, Andrew McCutchen was showered with "MVP" chants from the home faithful.

McCutchen singled soon after the chants rang out.

A.J. Burnett threw out the first pitch to Russell Martin before the home opener. 

Burnett and Martin were teammates in 2013, when the Pirates beat the Reds in an iconic Wild Card game at PNC Park.

Even the players are getting in on the fun.

First pitch for the Pirates' home opener was at 4:15 p.m.

It might not be a question you've ever pondered until just now, but have you ever wondered what the view would be like if you were a home run baseball being hit out of PNC Park? 

Well, wonder no more! 

KDKA Chief Photographer and SkyEye2 pilot Ian Smith gave us just that point of view this morning on KDKA Morning News.

Check out the video below!

KDKA's David Highfield had a chance to sit down with Aramark's Brian Hedinger and sampled some of the new food options at PNC Park.

Some of the items David got to sample included fried pickle curds, a special fish sandwich being offered during Lent, and pierogies topped with barbecue pulled pork. 

There's a lot of excitement around this Pirates season and what the city has to offer around PNC Park, and businesses on the North Shore are preparing to welcome thousands of fans back to the 'Burgh on Friday!

KDKA's Mary Ours has your weather forecast if you're heading to the ballpark today!

Eat'n Park is getting in on the fun for the Pirates' home opener on Friday!

The company says that anyone who visits an Eat'n Park location in Pirates gear will get a free Smiley Cookie!

Governor Josh Shapiro will be in Pittsburgh today and he'll be participating in the home opener events at PNC Park. 

Shapiro will be throwing out the PNC Honorary First Pitch to PNC Vice President of Govt. Affairs Tom Lamb.

Following the honorary first pitch, two former Buccos will also be throwing out the first pitch.

A.J. Burnett will be throwing out the first pitch to Russell Martin. The former Pirates pitcher and catcher each played a pivotal role on the 2013 team that returned to the postseason and clinched the team's first winning season since 1992, ending a stretch of 20 losing seasons.

Prior to Friday's home opener against the White Sox at PNC Park, the Pirates will be holding a Fallen Officers' Moment of Silence.

The team says that it will be honoring the two police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty earlier this year and share that moment with the officers' family members.

McKeesport Police Officer Sean Sluganski was shot and killed in February while responding to a domestic incident.

Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire died after being shot in an ambush while pursuing a wanted suspect. 

If you're heading to the home opener at PNC Park, the Gateway Clipper Shuttle will be running and an available option for your trip to and from the North Shore!

Shuttle service will start from Station Square starting 2 hours before game time and will run for 15 minutes after the game starts. 

After the game, return shuttles will begin running at the bottom of the 7th inning and will run until 30 minutes after the end of the game. 

Round trip tickets cost $15, while one-way tickets are $8.

Kids age 6 and under ride for free.

Tickets can be purchased at the dock at Station Square on gameday. 

The Pirates have had their ups and downs over the past few years, but one consistent bright spot has been relief pitcher and Mars native David Bednar.   

Bednar's meteoric rise has been made even more special because he's doing it in his hometown.

One of the most popular Pirates is calling for a "blackout" at PNC Park on Friday!

Andrew McCutchen is calling on Pirates fans to wear black for the team's home opener against the Chicago White Sox.

You might notice something new on the way to PNC Park on Friday.

The Golden Triangle Ambassadors are the newest additions to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership staff, and they are ready to help in any way they can.

"Each ambassador is armed with a grab bag," said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the PDP. "And they're going to walk up to you and ask if you are rooting for the Buccos today and pull out a card and surprise you."

Standing out in their blue and yellow shirts, the ambassadors will hand out numerous promo and gift cards to 19 Downtown businesses in hopes of getting more foot traffic into the Golden Triangle."

There are 50 percent off codes for symphony tickets," Waldrup said. "There are gift cards to a whole host of restaurants."  

When the Pirates host the Chicago White Sox for the team's home opener, they'll be looking to improve their record to 5-2, having gotten off to a good start so far this season.

The Buccos are coming off of a sweep of the Red Sox in Boston at Fenway Park.

• Pirates finish sweep of Red Sox behind Mitch Keller and Carlos Santana
  
• Ji Hwan Bae's 1st career homer helps Pirates top Red Sox 4-1
  
• Reynolds, Delay homers help lift Pirates over Red Sox 7-6
  

Prior to that, the Pirates split three games with the Reds in Cincinnati. 

• Oneil Cruz, Pirates top Reds on opening day
  
• Fraley, Newman, India homer to lift the Reds over Pirates
  
• Vosler, Friedl homer to support Ashcraft in Reds' victory