Pirates’ Andrew Heaney Joins Exclusive List of Veteran Lefties Who Shut Down Yankees

Andrew Heaney allowed one earned run in 7.0 innings against the New York Yankees on Sunday, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates the cushion they needed to win the series finale.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (45) delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees during the first inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Andrew Heaney is the old man in the Pittsburgh Pirates' star-studded starting rotation, and he made history out of that trait on Sunday.

The 33-year-old left-hander took the mound in the Pirates' series finale against the New York Yankees, immediately giving up an RBI double in the top of the first inning. Heaney got things under control from there, though, ultimately turning in quite the gem.

Heaney notched a 1-2-3 second frame before giving up one hit in the third, another in the fourth and one more in the fifth. The only baserunner in the sixth got on board via a walk, while Heaney added another strikeout in a perfect seventh frame.

By the time he got the hook, Heaney had allowed just five hits, one walk and one run in 7.0 innings of work, racking up 10 strikeouts along the way.

According to Underdog Fantasy’s Justin Havens, Heaney became the fourth-oldest left-handed pitcher ever to post a 10-strikeout game against the Yankees with one or fewer walks. Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Lefty Grove and Eddie Plank are the only players above him on that exclusive list.

The only lefties older than Andrew Heaney (who did so yesterday) with a 10+ K, 1/0 BB game against the Yankees:

Eddie Plank (1913)
Lefty Grove (1936)
Jamie Moyer (1998)
Randy Johnson (2001)

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 7, 2025

Heaney got stuck with a no-decision after the Pirates' bullpen blew a three-run lead in the ninth, but Pittsburgh still snatched the win thanks to a walk-off single from Tommy Pham in the 11th.

Two starts into his 12th MLB season, Heaney boasts a 1.50 ERA, 0.917 WHIP and 0.6 WAR with 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings. It marks quite the turnaround from his showing in spring training, when he went 0-3 with a 9.49 ERA, 1.865 WHIP and 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings after signing a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Pirates.

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