Andrew Heaney's 10 strikeouts, Tommy Pham's walk-off single in 11th lift Pirates past Yankees

The Pittsburgh Pirates found the perfect antidote for the hot-hitting New York Yankees in soft-tossing left-hander Andrew Heaney, who lulled their torpedo bats to sleep with a fastball that sat a tick below 90 mph.

Heaney recorded 10 strikeouts in seven innings, only for the Pirates’ lack of a closer to blow up in their face as the Yankees tied the game with a three-run ninth inning.

But Tommy Pham hit a line drive off the left-field wall to score automatic runner Jack Suwinski to lift the Pirates to a 5-4 win in the 11th inning Sunday afternoon before 22,898 at PNC Park.

The fifth career walk-off hit for Tommy Pham ???? pic.twitter.com/W9U2di6qAD

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 6, 2025

With closer David Bednar demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis and setup man Colin Holderman placed on the 15-day injured list, the Pirates turned to righty Dennis Santana for a scoreless eighth inning.

Lefty Ryan Borucki struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start the ninth before Anthony Volpe reached on a single to short. Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes barehanded a bunt by Austin Wells and made an off-balance throw for the second out, but Borucki walked Jasson Dominguez, and Oswald Peraza drilled a double down the third-base line to score Volpe and cut it to 4-2. With runners on second and third, Trent Grisham hit a two-run single to right field to tie the score.

Chase Shugart, recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game, got Paul Goldschmidt to ground out to second to end the frame. Lefty Caleb Ferguson had runners on the corners in the 10th but got out of the jam, thanks to a pair of plays up the middle by second baseman Adam Frazier. Luke Weaver got Jack Suwinski swinging with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, Suwinski’s 11th strikeout in 21 at-bats.

Pirates lefty Joey Wentz had runners on first and third in the 11th but escaped without any damage. Suwinski started the bottom of the 11th at second base, stole third and scored when Pham smacked a 3-2 changeup by Devin Williams 388 feet to left for his fifth career walk-off hit.

In his second start for the Pirates, the 33-year-old Heaney allowed one run on five hits and one walk. He threw 67 of his 100 pitches for strikes, getting 16 whiffs on 45 swings and 22 called strikes. He relied primarily on a four-seam fastball that averaged 89.8 mph, topping out at 92.1, but kept the Yankees off-balance with his changeup, slider, sinker and two types of curveballs, including four that averaged 71.3 mph.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Cody Bellinger singled to shortstop, stole second base and scored on a double to right-center by Chisholm.

Heaney struck out six of the first 11 batters he faced. He fanned 2024 AL MVP Aaron Judge twice, getting him looking at a full-count four-seamer to end the third.

The Pirates rallied in the bottom of the third. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who replaced Jared Triolo (low back discomfort) at shortstop, drew a leadoff walk off Will Warren, and Hayes followed with a single to left. Both scored when designated hitter Bryan Reynolds belted a 3-1 sinker for a 402-foot double off the bullpen fence to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.

Oneil Cruz made a diving catch in shallow center to rob Volpe of a hit, only to misplay the bounce on a Wells line drive that rolled to the warning track for a triple. Heaney escaped the jam by striking out Dominguez to end the inning.

The Pirates responded with a one-out triple to the right-center gap by Enmanuel Valdez, who scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Pham for a 3-1 lead. Frazier followed with a single, scoring on Kiner-Falefa’s double to left for a 4-1 advantage.