Former Pirates Pitchers Shine in World Series Opener
A pair of former Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers were at the crux of an epic Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gerrit Cole got the start for the Yankees. He pitched six innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six batters. He was relieved by fellow former Pirates pitcher Clay Holmes, who got just two outs and didn't allow a run in his outing.
The Dodgers went on to win 6-3 on a walk-off grand slam from Freddie Freeman with two outs in the 10th inning.
Cole navigated trouble in the first inning and sat down 10 straight batters before Kiké Hernández tripled and scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly from Will Smith. The 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner escaped another jam in the sixth after he was able to set Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman down in order after a leadoff double from Tommy Edman.
After a leadoff single from Teoscar Hernández in the seventh, Cole was relieved by Holmes. He hit Max Muncy with a pitch before Kiké moved the runners to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. Holmes got one more out when Smith popped out to Anthony Volpe, and then he was relieved for Tommy Kahnle, who got out of the inning on a groundout.
Cole was the No. 1 overall pick for the Pirates in the 2011 MLB Draft out of UCLA and he went on to make his big-league debut in 2013, spending five seasons in Pittsburgh. The six-time All-Star went 59-42 with a 3.50 ERA while striking out 734 batters over 782 1/3 innings with the team. The former Pirates ace was then traded to the Houston Astros, where he budded into one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Cole was 35-10 with a 2.68 ERA in his two-year stint with the Astros before he signed a nine-year, $324 million deal during the 2020 offseason with New York. Cole is 59-28 with a 3.12 ERA over his five seasons with the Yankees and he won his first Cy Young Award in 2023.
Holmes was also drafted by the Pirates in 2011 and struggled mightily upon reaching the majors in 2018. Over his three-plus seasons with the team, he went 5-7 with a 5.57 ERA. Pittsburgh traded him to the Yankees at the 2021 deadline and he has since turned it around, becoming a two-time All-Star and going 19-15 with a 2.69 ERA over 217 2/3 innings with 74 saves.
Game 2 of the World Series is on Saturday at 8:08 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium.
