Drew Maggi doesn’t know if he’ll have any major league at-bats in his future, so he was determined to take advantage of any chances he got Saturday night.
Maggi got his first two hits, three days after making his big league debut with Pittsburgh following 13 years in the minors, and the Pirates routed the Washington Nationals 16-1 to complete a day-night doubleheader sweep.
The 34-year-old lined a 2-2 splitter from Hobie Harris into center field for an RBI single as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, boosting the Pirates’ lead to 13-0 in the second game.
“Who knows where it goes from here. Maybe I never get back up here and that was it,” said Maggi, who was optioned to Double-A Altoona on Saturday morning and was appointed Pittsburgh’s 27th man for the doubleheader, necessitated by Friday’s rainout.
“That was going through my head the whole day, so it was kind of like, ‘You know what? I’m swinging. I’m going out hacking’ and I got some good pitches to hit with two strikes and I kept fouling them off. I’m like ‘Gosh, just hit it, find the hole. Hit if forward.’ And finally I did.”
Maggi stayed in the game at third base and added a ninth-inning double off Lane Thomas, an outfielder who pitched the ninth.
Miguel Andujar homered in his season debut as the Pirates won the opener 6-3, then hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning of the second game. Jack Suwinski had three hits in the second game, including his first career grand slam, as the Pirates scored their most runs since routing the Chicago Cubs 18-5 on July 1, 2019.
Vince Velasquez (4-2) pitched six scoreless innings in the nightcap for the Pirates, who have won four straight and 11 of 12. The Pirates, coming off four losing seasons, are 20-8 for the time since 1992, when they won their last division title.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We played a complete game tonight. Vinny set the tone and we played the full game. Something I was most proud of is that we extended the score in the (late innings). Every ground ball we hit we ran out like it was a 1-0 game.”
Maggi played in 1,154 games in the minors, making 4,494 plate appearances. He was called up last weekend from Altoona when outfielder Bryan Reynolds went on the bereavement list and debuted to a standing ovation when he pinch hit Wednesday night in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He struck out in his debut, then grounded out, fouled out and flied out in his first start on Thursday.
Saturday night he got a chance in the seventh, with the contingent of Pirates fans chanting his name and his teammates at the railing of the dugout.
“I was just trying to slow everything down,” Maggi said. “Just trying to breathe and look for a pitch I could hit. Not trying to do too much. It was like the perfect hit, too, because I saw it go right through the middle and it’s so vivid in my mind right now. I was so happy I got it done, got that weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Velasquez won his fourth straight start. allowing five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Cody Bolton, a 24-year-old right-hander, followed with two scoreless innings of one-hit ball in his major league debut.
Pittsburgh chased Chad Kuhl (0-2) with a four-run fourth, capped by Carlos Santana’s RBI single that made it 8-0.
In sixth, the Pirates loaded the bases against Hobie Harris. Suwinski, already with a single and RBI-double, homered into the second deck in right center.
Kuhl allowed eight runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 inning.
Dominic Smith homered for Washington, which is last in the NL East at 9-17, including an NL-worst 2-11 at home.
In the first game, Andujar drove in three runs and Connor Joe also went deep for Pittsburgh. Rich Hill (3-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out five to win his third consecutive start.
Andujar, a 28-year-old infielder and outfielder claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees last September, hit .284 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 23 games for Triple-A Indianapolis before the Pirates selected his contract on Saturday.
Washington starter Patrick Corbin (1-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
“The whole thing was tough,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of the doubleheader. “Today was just not a good day. The first game, walks. The second game, fll behind, walks and the game got out of hand.”
ROSTER MOVES
Pirates: RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Nationals: Washington added RHP Jordan Weems as its 27th man.
UP NEXT
RHP Johan Oviedo (2-1, 3.03) is to start Sunday’s series finale for the Pirates against Nationals RHP Josiah Gray (1-4, 2.93).
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