Pirates' Josh Palacios cranks first MLB homer, gets ball back from fan

The pitch came straight out of a batter’s dream.

A hanging changeup, right along the middle of the strike zone, thrown by Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos at 88 mph.

Moments before, Ke’Bryan Hayes blew the lid off PNC Park with a three-run homer to left field, handing the Pirates a 6-5 lead over St. Louis on Friday evening at PNC Park.

Then, Josh Palacios came to the plate and with one swing made Gallegos pay, crushing the 0-1 pitch to right-center field for a welcomed insurance run.

“It’s a hitter’s dream, and it’s a hitter’s dream not to miss that too,” Palacios said. “I did miss the first one. I got a good pitch to hit, missed the first one, and I just told myself, ‘Hey, look for another good pitch to hit, get the bat around,’ and I did that.”

It was the first major-league homer for Palacios, who joined the Pirates on May 9 after a promotion from Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 27-year-old Palacios was a pick of the Pirates last December in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.

Before this season, he had played a total of 42 major-league games in 2021 and 2022 with Toronto and then Washington.

His first home run came during his 110th big-league at-bat.

The ball, hit onto the cement concourse at PNC Park bordering the right field stands above the Clemente Wall, traveled an estimated 426 feet, per Statcast, making it the longest of the four home runs hit Friday night.

FIRST MLB HOME RUN FOR PALACIOS pic.twitter.com/VK5DlryhDl

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 3, 2023

Thankfully for Palacios, it’s now back in his possession, courtesy of a thoughtful fan who returned the ball.

“The (MLB) authenticator’s working on it now,” Palacios said. “I signed a ball for the guy, so whoever caught the ball and sent it back, thank you very much, I appreciate it. I’m probably going to bring it home and give it to my pops and my mom. They definitely deserve that. … They’ll be here tomorrow, and I’ll give it to them.”

Palacios, batting eighth and playing right field for Pittsburgh, was hitless in his other two at-bats.

On the year, he’s batting .286 with four RBIs, three walks and five strikeouts through 13 games.

Having played a role in the Pirates’ comeback win over St. Louis, clobbering his first MLB home run in the process in addition to having the ball to offer his parents as a gift, ensures Friday will be a night he won’t soon forget.

“Very cool for Josh,” manager Derek Shelton said. “I mean, the fact that you work your butt off in the big leagues, when you check one of those boxes off, it’s really nice and for it to come in such a big moment and be able to extend the lead was really kind of a special thing to see.”

The Pirates, winners of three straight games, take on St. Louis at 4:05 p.m. Saturday in the second game of three at PNC Park.