O'Hearn Goes Nuclear: 3 HR, 10 RBI Buries Atlanta
Ryan O'Hearn put together one of the most dominant individual performances of the 2026 season, going 4-for-5 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI as Pittsburgh dismantled Atlanta 12-4. The story of the night was over before most fans finished their first beer.
Atlanta drew first blood in the opening frame when Dubón singled to right, scoring Olson to make it 1-0. The lead lasted approximately one at-bat. O'Hearn stepped in and launched a 384-foot shot to right center, scoring Mangum, Lowe, and Reynolds in one swing to put Pittsburgh up 4-1. That grand slam swung the home win probability from 62% to 85% — a 24-point lurch that effectively told you everything you needed to know about how this game would go.
Atlanta clawed back a run in the third when Albies singled to center to score Harris II, trimming the deficit to two. Then O'Hearn happened again. He went back to center field this time, 415 feet, a two-run shot that pushed Pittsburgh to 7-2 and made the Braves' bullpen situation look increasingly grim. By the sixth, he completed the hat trick — a 373-foot drive to right that scored Mangum and Lowe and pushed the lead to 10-2. Three home runs. Three different directions. Ten RBI on the night. Pittsburgh kept piling on through the seventh and eighth, with Lowe singling home Callihan and Gonzales singling home Valdez to stretch it to 12-2 before Atlanta's Yastrzemski singled in two in a meaningless ninth to set the final at 12-4.
On the mound, Paul Skenes worked six innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 8 hits with 4 strikeouts — a serviceable outing that looks even better given the run support he received. Carmen Mlodzinski was immaculate in relief, throwing 2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit. For Atlanta, Connor Thomas lasted just 3.2 innings, surrendering 5 hits and 4 earned runs before the bullpen inherited a mess that only got worse. The Braves got contributions from Dubón (2-for-3, 1 RBI) and Harris II (2-for-5), but it appears Atlanta simply had no answer for a Pittsburgh lineup that was locked in from the jump. O'Hearn's night was the kind that gets circled on a season highlight reel.