Pirates notebook: Biggest crowd in years fills PNC Park for opener

Plenty of indicators prior to first pitch Friday afternoon pointed to a pretty full house at PNC Park for the Pirates’ 2023 home opener.

For starters, there were the full parking lots full of tailgating fans and backed-up masses of people eager to get in the ballpark well before the game started.

Then came the thunderous applause at the pregame introduction of Andrew McCutchen, followed by similarly loud responses to the videos shown on the PNC Park jumbo screen of A.J. Burnett and Russell Martin, who handled ceremonial first pitch duties Friday.

All in all, it looked like a pretty solid crowd had formed on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

And then came the official numbers.

The announced attendance was 39,167 — a sellout.

That made Friday afternoon the largest crowd at PNC Park in over seven years, dating to the 39,500 fanatics that piled in April 3, 2016 for the Pirates’ home opener against St. Louis.

“Just walking from the bullpen back to the dugout, looking up in the stadium and seeing the blackout – I know I had chills and that everyone on the team felt the energy from the fans,” said catcher Jason Delay.

“I think it speaks to the excitement in this locker room. We have a lot of really good young players that people are looking forward to seeing what they can do. I’m in that same boat. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do as a young team.”

Familiar foe for Vasquez

Pirates starter Vince Velasquez, who joined the club this past offseason on a one-year contract, hopes to find himself among a contingent of pitchers who have managed to overcome struggles and resuscitate their careers in Pittsburgh, such as Tyler Anderson (2021) and Jose Quintana last year.

This weekend’s series against Chicago will be memorable for Velasquez, as the 30-year-old spent the 2022 campaign with the White Sox, going 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA over 28 appearances.

Velasquez made eight starts on the year, before midseason injuries resulted in him being relegated to the bullpen.

While his full body of work in 2022 was far from All-Star-worthy, Velasquez demonstrated some consistency towards the end of the season, posting a 1.08 ERA over his final four appearances (8.1 innings pitched), all of which came in relief.

The Pirates brought Velasquez aboard to start games, and that is the plan for him Saturday, when he is set to face Chicago’s Mike Clevinger in the second of three games against the White Sox.

For now, Velasquez (0-1, 5.79 ERA) isn’t worrying about any potential changes to his responsibilities, as opposed to getting back on track Saturday after lasting just 4.2 innings April 2 against the Reds, a game in which he took the loss.

“I’ve got a job to do, and that’s to put up zeroes and minimize damage (and) go the distance as long as I possibly can,” he said. “I guess there’s a little taste of, ‘This is what I can do. This is what I’m capable of.’ There’s always that.”

Notes:

• As a collective offense, the Pirates crushed the baseball Friday, posting a team batting average of .452 (19 of 42). However, one player didn’t get to join in on the fun: center fielder Jack Suwinski, who batted sixth. The only Pirates batter not to record a hit, Suwinski ignominiously recorded a golden sombrero at the plate, finishing 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. Through four games, the 24-year-old has gone just 1 of 14 (.071) with six strikeouts.

• The hitters beneath Suwinski made up for his cold offensive display. Right fielder and No. 7 hitter Connor Joe was 4 of 5 with three doubles and an RBI. Ji Hwan Bae, batting eighth and playing second base, went 3 of 5 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Delay, the caboose of the batting order, also went 3 of 5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

• Despite the 22 combined runs and 30 hits between the White Sox and Pirates, Friday’s game only lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes, serving as a textbook example of how the MLB’s numerous new rules instituted to speed up the game are making an impact. So far, only the Pirates’ season opener March 30 at Cincinnati has gone over three hours. Two of the White Sox’s eight games have lasted three-plus hours.