PITTSBURGH — The last time Oswaldo Cabrera and the Yankees visited the Steel City, he stopped by the Roberto Clemente Museum.
The visit, taken in September 2023, included a chance to hold one of Clemente’s enormous bats. There’s a belief that players who visit the museum and hold the humanitarian’s bats are graced with good luck. Sure enough, Cabrera homered the next day.
“You feel the vibes,” Cabrera said with the Yankees back in Pittsburgh. “You feel the energy of that museum.”
Cabrera added that he planned on returning to the Clemente Museum on this trip. He joked that he just wanted to hold the bat again, though he didn’t need the good luck charm in the Yankees’ 9-4 win over the Pirates on Friday.
While Cabrera didn’t homer, he started the scoring in Pittsburgh’s home opener, lofting a two-run single in the second inning. The No. 9 hitter had help from others at the bottom of the Yankees’ lineup, as Trent Grisham walked and Jasson Domínguez doubled beforehand. Cabrera also hustled into second on an Oneil Cruz error, the first of several Pirates gaffes in the game.
The Yankees scored again on a Domínguez single in the third, which also featured an error from Alexander Canario. Pirates fans, fed up at that point after watching former Yankee Isiah Kiner-Falefa boot a ball on the previous play, then began booing before chanting, “Sell the team.”
The phrase, directed at frugal owner Bob Nutting, was a popular one throughout the day, as a plane flew above PNC Park with a banner that read “SELL THE TEAM BOB” before the Pirates’ sixth loss of the young season.
Cabrera then added an RBI single in the third before Anthony Volpe knocked one of his own in the fourth. The Yankees scored two more runs in the fourth frame after Domínguez was plunked and Cabrera walked with the bases loaded.
That sequence inspired more boos and “sell the team” demands. It would not be the last time that the crowd — far from full capacity despite the Yankees being in town for a home opener — made its opinion known.
Aaron Judge prompted another round in the seventh inning, clubbing a two-run homer off Tim Mayza, another ex-Yankee who also surrendered Judge’s 61st home run of the 2022 season.
Judge, who fell into the right-field wall on a leaping catch in the first inning, is now the first player in MLB history with six dingers and 17 RBIs through his team’s first seven games of a season, per the YES Network. He now has 321 career homers after playing in his 1,000th game on Friday.
For reference, Babe Ruth also had 321 homers in his first 1,000 games with the Yankees.
While Pirates fans weren’t pleased with the Yankees’ latest offensive outburst, Max Fried certainly enjoyed the run support for the second straight start.
The Yankees scored 20 times in his pinstriped debut on March 29 — 16 at the time of his departure — though the lefty didn’t qualify for the win after some bad defense extended his pitch count. That wasn’t an issue in Pittsburgh, as Fried allowed just one earned run over 5 2/3 innings.
The Pirates’ only run off Fried came on a Bryan Reynolds homer in the third inning. Fried also totaled six hits, one walk, six strikeouts and 98 pitches.
Ke’Bryan Hayes gave the home crowd something else to cheer about in the seventh inning when the son of former Yankee Charlie Hayes hit a three-run homer off Fernando Cruz. However, it was too little, too late.
While the Yankees’ Friday afternoon win took place under gray skies in Pittsburgh, rain never fell. That may not be the case on Saturday and Sunday, as there are concerns over inclement weather.
Marcus Stroman is slated to start Saturday’s contest for the Yankees as they look for a third straight win. Bailey Falter will take the ball for the Pirates.
