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MLB News & Moments: Ryan O’Hearn Makes History

Ryan O'Hearn becomes the top Pirate.

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 4 Hours Ago

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Ryan O’MG!

Paul Skenes is usually the brightest star in Pittsburgh, as any of his starts carries buzz and anticipation around the Pirates. For a day, he took a backseat to a lesser-known teammate, as Skenes’ win on a pedestrian line (8 hits, 2 runs, 4 Ks over six innings) became an afterthought thanks to Ryan O’Hearn. The first-year Pirate opened the game with a first-inning grand slam and then added a three-run homer in the third, giving Pittsburgh a quick 7-2 lead. However, he was not done, hitting another three-run blast in the sixth. At that point, the Pirates led 10-2 with O’Hearn being the only run producer of the game, as he finished his historic evening with a 4-for-5 performance that included 10 RBI. He became the first Pirate ever with a double-digit RBI game, which is remarkable considering the franchise has been part of organized baseball for 140 years. Have a night, Ryan.

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Facing the Brewers twice on the same day sounds like a horrible idea for any MLB team, but things started auspiciously for the Cardinals. Despite resorting to an opener against Jacob Misiorowski, St. Louis jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first, as Jordan Walker belted a two-run homer against the Miz. The fun would continue with a solo blast from Ivan Herrera in the third, but all it accomplished was to make Misiorowski really angry. No Cardinal would reach base against the Miz from that point on, as he retired the next 14 batters in order, finishing his day with 11 Ks over seven frames, earning his 10th W of the season as the offense came back to win it 4-3, as five of Milwaukee’s ten hits were doubles.

To complete the double-header, the Cardinals had to face Robert Gasser, which seemed like an easier task. Instead, Gasser was nearly as effective as the Miz, allowing only two runs over 7.2 innings to earn his second win of 2026. And while Milwaukee’s offense again collected ten hits, they were a bit more impactful this time around, including a double and a triple by Cooper Pratt, a Joey Ortiz homer, and the first MLB hit for prospect Luis Lara. The 10-2 easy win gave Milwaukee a double-header sweep, as the Brewers are now 18-6 against the rest of the NL Central.

Sweet Dome

A day after taking their first home loss against an AL East foe, the Rays got immediately back on track with a 6-4 win over the Yankees. Homers from Victor Mesa, Jr., Hunter Feduccia, and Yandy Díaz provided most of the scoring for Tampa Bay, but the story of the game came from the pitching staff, as the unheralded Ian Seymour earned his fifth win of 2026 with an impressive 12 Ks over 5.1 innings, while the bullpen carried the load the rest of the way. In the end, the Yankees struck out 17 times, with Paul Goldschmidt and José Caballero each taking a golden sombrero in the process. Even as Ben Rice celebrated his Home Run Derby invitation with a three-run blast, the rest of the offense was unable to do much despite collecting 11 hits. The Rays are now 5-2 in the season series against New York.

Stay, Tarik

In the upcoming weeks before the trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers will be one of the most interesting teams in baseball, if not one that could help decide the fates of several teams. A bad stretch that could make their playoff hopes remote is almost certain to set off a fire sale of many prized veterans, including the most coveted pitcher in baseball. On the other hand, a positive streak may convince the front office to stay put or even become a buyer in a very winnable division. After yet another win, Detroit may be aiming at the second scenario more and more, especially with Tarik Skubal slowly returning to his former self. The lefty ace took his second win after a long IL stint, limiting the A’s to one run in five frames, with nine strikeouts. While opposing starter J.T. Ginn kept things close, the Tigers took advantage of a four-run sixth to secure the contest, cruising to a 6-2 win as the bullpen did its job. Despite being fourth in the Central and nine games below .500, the Tigers are only five games out of the AL’s final wild card spot.

Zack Attack

As the Phillies continue their ascent to the top of the NL East, their biggest stars showed up as they usually do. Kyle Schwarber started the party with his MLB-leading 31st homer of the season, launching a majestic two-run blast on a 3-0 pitch. The early 3-0 lead would become almost secondary when considering how Zack Wheeler was pitching, though, as the righty delivered an absolute gem on the mound. Wheeler cruised through the first six innings, as no Red was able to even reach second base. He would allow a solo homer to lead off the seventh, but it became almost anecdotal as he retired the next three batters to put a bow on his impressive line: four hits, no walks, one run, and 14 strikeouts, as the Phillies took a comfortable 4-1 win. Despite the late start to his season, the righty ace is now 9-1 with a 2.28 ERA, which could make him a sleeper NL Cy Young candidate.

 

By The Numbers

 

10 As part of Ryan O’Hearn’s memorable day, he achieved a pretty cool feat. He became the first player since 1920, when RBI became an official stat, to record a team’s first 10+ RBI in a game.

5 Tyler Tolbert made history in all sorts of ways, as his ability to get hit after hit made him only the third player of all time with consecutive five-hit games. He joins this exclusive list with Hi Myers and none other than Roberto Clemente, who last did it in 1970.

1,101 Playing in his 1,101st career game with at least one plate appearance, Shohei Ohtani was able to reach 300 homers. He is the fifth-fastest slugger to reach this mark, trailing only Aaron Judge, Ralph Kiner, Ryan Howard, and Juan Gonzalez.

 

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Tyler, the Hit Creator

In one of the wackiest games of 2026, the Royals and Mets combined for 28 runs, 32 hits, 16 walks, and a plethora of hitting achievements. New York’s A.J. Ewing went 4-for-4, while Juan Soto reached 20 homers for the season. The Royals saw each of their starters record at least one hit, while starting pitcher Seth Lugo avoided a loss despite allowing nine runs. However, the biggest story of the day was Tyler Tolbert, who entered the game having gotten a hit in his past seven at-bats. He followed it up with five straight hits to begin this game, becoming only the fifth player ever with a streak of 12 consecutive hits. Tolbert even managed to get a homer in that hitting barrage, as he was finally retired in his sixth trip to the plate, finishing his day with a 5-for-6 line that included four runs and two RBI. Despite falling into an early 9-4 hole, Kansas City added more misery to the Mets’ season, ending the contest with a football-like 16-12 score.

The Greatest Sho-Man

In what may be the most lopsided matchup in modern baseball, the Dodgers looked well on their way to defeating the Rockies again, guided by a Shohei Ohtani lead-off homer. The solo shot made history, as Ohtani became the first Japanese-born player to reach 300 homers, as he continues to build his Hall of Fame résumé. The storybook day would not end well, though, as the Rockies took advantage of a rare series of defensive miscues by the Dodgers to come back and win 4-3. Ohtani would have a chance to play hero, but he popped out with two men on base in the ninth.

How Can You Not Be Romantic About Baseball?

As the field for the upcoming Home Run Derby continues to populate, Yankee slugger Ben Rice confirmed he will be part of the festivities. While his prodigious power is certain to be in full display, Rice took a moment to share how it all started. In a short video shared on his personal Instagram account, we can see Rice as a small kid playing a mock derby in his backyard, with his dad providing some nice baseballs to hit over the fence. As usual, baseball is the best.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾The Twins have officially placed star outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day IL with a right hip strain. The move is retroactive to July 6, giving Buxton the chance to return right after the All-Star break. While he will miss the midsummer classic, the Twins will be cautious as usual with their oft-injured player, who now adds a new IL stint to his long career list. While it is still unlikely that Minnesota will trade him, he is still a very interesting name heading into the deadline.

⚾ The Pirates have placed rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin on the 10-day IL with a torn tendon on his left ring finger. While the injury will not require surgery and Griffin could try to play through it, Pittsburgh will be judicious with their prized prospect, as he will now take between eight and ten weeks of rest before resuming baseball activities. As the Pirates also have Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz on the sideline, it should create a new sense of urgency for the front office to add veteran bats for the stretch run. 

⚾ A month after signing a multi-year deal to stay with Milwaukee for the long haul, prospect Luis Lara was finally called up to the big-league club. Lara started in center field during the second game of the Brewers’ doubleheader against St. Louis, going 0-for-4 in the process. The 21-year-old is a switch hitter that can play anywhere in the outfield, and he will likely find sparse playing time as he builds up his status with the NL Central leaders. 

 

Articles You Should Read

 

What’s Eating Paul Skenes? — Kiri Oler, Fangraphs

The Marlins May Be For Real — Mike Petriello, MLB.com

 

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Pablo Figueroa

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Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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