Bryan Reynolds' walk-off homer gives Pirates a win in Jared Jones' return

Jared Jones and Evan Sisk were sitting in the Pirates' clubhouse on Friday night, watching the ninth inning on television, when they heard a few claps from outside. With the television delayed, they assumed that Bryan Reynolds had hit a single or something.

"Then we see him hit the [crap] out of it," Jones said, "and we were like, 'Holy [crap], this needs a little bit more reaction.' It was really cool.' "

And just like that, Jones' return to PNC Park got its perfect ending.

Jones wasn't flawless in his first major league outing since 2024, but the Pirates earned a 6-5 win against Derek Shelton's Minnesota Twins on Reynolds' two-run walk-off home run.

"A lot of velo in the beginning and end," Reynolds said. "Jared, it's good to have him back. He was throwing smoke. To squeak out a win there at the end was pretty cool."

Jones made his return to the PNC Park mound with a new choice of music, swapping Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" for Luke Combs' "Back in the Saddle." The meaning was obvious.

And Jones showed off his "smoke" quickly. He struck out leadoff man Byron Buxton on three fastballs - 100.6 mph, 100.4 mph, 100.7 mph - then induced a groundout from Brooks Lee.

But Kody Clemens, batting third, rudely welcomed Jones back to pro baseball's highest level. Clemens blasted a 100.1 mph four-seamer over the Clemente Wall for a solo homer.

The homer came too quick to soak anything in," Jones said. "But yeah, it was really cool being back out there, being on the team. Just super grateful to be here."

The Twins added two more in the second. Trevor Larnach's single and two walks loaded the bases with no outs, then former Pirates prospect Tristan Gray brought in two runs with a single to left. And with two outs in the third, Larnach hit a two-run homer into the Allegheny (on a bounce) on a fastball Jones left down the middle.

Jones responded with a scoreless fourth. He threw 77 pitches, striking out Clemens on his final pitch in the fifth.

He's had better outings - 4 ⅓ innings, seven hits, two walks, five earned runs, six strikeouts - but he made progress and came out of it healthy. For manager Don Kelly, that was the most important thing.

"I just want him to keep checking that health box," Kelly said. "He'll get back in rhythm and get the off-speed. I think we saw that throughout this outing. When he's healthy, he'll be really good."

The Pirates gave Jones support throughout his outing. They started with a three-run first against Twins starter Taj Bradley, aided by two walks and an error from third baseman Lee on Nick Gonzales' slow hit grounder. Oneil Cruz brought in a run with a groundout, then Konnor Griffin added a two-out RBI single.

Then Cruz hit a third-inning homer into the Allegheny River, just the seventh to land in the river on the fly in PNC Park history, to bring the Pirates within a run.

"I'm guessing that one got in the river? It looked like it was going to," Kelly said. "... It turns into a golf ball pretty quick."

Yet the Pirates trailed 5-4 when Jones left the game, handing a one-run deficit to what has been a shaky bullpen. That bullpen responded with one of its best outings of the year, as Sisk, Wilber Dotel and Gregory Soto combined to allow just one baserunner in the next 4 ⅔ innings. Dotel threw three scoreless frames.

"He's been awesome the entire year," Jones said of Dotel, who now has a 1.32 ERA. "Dotel, Sisk, Soto - those guys are lights out and it's really fun to watch them pitch."

They kept the Pirates alive until Reynolds' homer, including a missed opportunity in the eighth. The Pirates got runners on second and third with no outs as Cruz walked, then the Twins flubbed a possible Griffin double play ball when second baseman Luke Keaschall whiffed on shortstop Gray's throw.

After Griffin stole second, moving the go-ahead run into scoring position, Endy Rodriguez struck out. Jake Mangum, pinch-hitting for Jhostynxon Garcia, grounded to first and Cruz was thrown out at home. Then Jared Triolo flew out to right field.

It could have cost the Pirates. Instead, Reynolds came through, scoring pinch-runner Tyler Callihan (running for Spencer Horwitz).

"I put us in a spot pretty early on in the game and you see the resilience of this team," Jones said. "The guys coming in after me and throwing up zeroes, the bats battling back in the game, and came up clutch in the ninth.

On the mound

It'll take time to see how much Carmen Mlodzinski will help the Pirates bullpen, but the verdict is in on Dotel, the fellow starter-turned-long-reliever. His efforts gave the Pirates a chance.

"It feels really good actually," Dotel said, with major league coach Stephen Morales translating. "That's why we work the way we do in the minors, to become a big league pitcher and prepare ourselves for situations like this."

If Mlodzinski can do what Dotel has done - as Mlodzinski has in his prior stints in relief - the Pirates will be in a good spot.

At the plate

Griffin made his first ever major league start at designated hitter and finished the game 2 for 4 with two singles.

The river balls from Larnach and Cruz were the 86th and 87th in PNC Park history. Cruz had the last homer into the Allegheny on the fly on June 22, 2024.

Bucs bites

• Before the game, the Pirates designated Justin Lawrence for assignment to clear a roster spot for Jones. Kelly said he hopes that Lawrence passes through waivers so the Pirates can work with him at Triple-A Indianapolis.

• Griffin is dealing with a low-grade muscle strain to one of his flexors in his forearm, Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said in a pregame update. He has not been cleared to throw, although he can bat. The Pirates plan to reassess him in the coming days.

• Ryan O'Hearn ran the bases pregame. Tomczyk said he was "completely asymptomatic" from his right lat strain. He could be a candidate to return to the majors in the coming days.

• As for Joey Bart, while he has progressed enough from the left foot infection that he can resume weight room activities and light tossing, he still remains weeks away from the majors.

Up next

The Pirates and Twins continue their three-game series at 4:05 p.m. Saturday. Right-hander Mitch Keller (5-2, 3.64 ERA) will face Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (6-2, 3.92). The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh and broadcast on the radio on 93.7 The Fan.

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