Tyler Callihan walked into the Pirates’ dugout after Don Kelly’s question, went to the batting cage to warm up for a ninth-inning appearance, and then did what he’s always tried to do: contribute anywhere. The utility man’s willingness to pitch—only months aft
When Don Kelly asked Tyler Callihan if he was ready to pitch the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 12-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the moment didn’t drag. The utility fielder headed for the batting cage for warm-up throws before he ever faced a hitter.
“So I knocked that one out early,” Callihan said, with a smile, after allowing one hit and one walk in a scoreless inning. “It’s interesting. Obviously, I’d rather be on the flip side of the score at the end of the night, but that was fun.”
It wasn’t just an emergency appearance. It matched the pitch-in-a-pinch philosophy Callihan has been carrying for years—one he tells his teammates about during batting practice. His goal is a long major league career, and along the way, he wants to play every position on the field “at some point.”
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound right-hander has already done plenty of traveling around the diamond. Over seven minor league seasons, he has played first base, second base, third base and both corner outfield positions. He also sees himself as an emergency catcher, a role he says he took on in high school.
“It’s something I’ve done a lot in my life, just play all over the place,” Callihan said. “All game, every game I’m itching to contribute in whatever way, whether that’s being involved or uplifting teammates. Whatever it is, I always want to contribute whatever I can, whatever they ask of me.”
That readiness has a practical edge for the Pirates. The Dodgers scored 10 runs in the seventh inning, and the barrage took a toll on Pittsburgh’s bullpen. Relievers Wilber Dotel. Brandan Bidois and Dennis Santana combined for 96 pitches over the seventh and eighth innings. leaving the Pirates needing answers late.
Callihan’s fastball work came with its own kind of twist. He threw fastballs on all 15 pitches, even though Baseball Savant counted them as curveballs and sliders because the average velocity was 70.9. Only six of those pitches went for strikes.
First, he got Andy Pages, who hit a two-run home run in the seventh, to ground out to third on the second pitch.
Then the plan changed. After Miguel Rojas drew a five-pitch walk on balls that ranged from 64.7-69.5 mph, Callihan realized he couldn’t keep throwing that way and still command the inning. He increased his velocity into the mid-70s, wanting to get ahead so he could throw “some real heat.”
“I started off just trying to lob it, but realized I couldn’t throw strikes like that so I had to put more on it,” Callihan said. “If I could’ve got an 0-2, they would’ve seen it.”
Still, the at-bat didn’t fully break open. Callihan fell behind 3-0 to Dodgers star Mookie Betts before getting two called strikes, and he finished the sequence with a 362-foot fly out to center field for the second out.
“I’m not going to hit him,” Callihan said. “That was my thought process: I’m not going to hit him, but I want to throw it over the plate.”
For Callihan. pitching didn’t come from a lack of options—it came after surviving the kind of moment that makes any chance to take the mound feel bigger. Just 13 months earlier. in his fourth game with the Reds after making his MLB debut. he suffered a serious injury when he crashed glove-first into the padded wall in the left field corner trying to catch a Matt Olson foul ball against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
He broke both bones in his left forearm. It required three surgeries, including one to repair cartilage and ligament damage in his wrist, and left a long scar that looks like a zipper on both sides of his forearm.
After being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 28, Callihan’s fourth game for the Pirates came at Truist Park again. On June 6. in a 6-3 loss. he hit a double in the fourth inning and drew a walk in the seventh. The timing also carried something personal: his return coincided with the first birthday of his son, Crew.
Before that game, Callihan taped a segment with Hannah Mears of SportsNet Pittsburgh while he was still working through the idea of coming back. He said he got emotional when he walked into the stadium because that’s when the injury started to surface.
“I think walking into the stadium is when I first felt it because all of the gruesome stuff happened underneath the stadium. the parts I remember like getting carted to the other side. to the training room. ” Callihan said. “Once I got back onto the field, I didn’t think twice about it. It was nice, to get it out of the way early.”.
Then he turned the day into something he could control. Hitting a double. Getting on base. Letting the game do what it does—pull the mind forward.
“Everything I think about nowadays is about my family, especially when I get outside the field,” Callihan said. “I don’t think twice about it. I just try to be as present as I can. It was full circle. I think I needed it. too. just to get back there and play and get a hit and put that part of life past me.”.
That’s the through-line tying his pitching debut into his career arc: an urge to show up wherever the moment demands it, and a determination to keep moving forward—even when the ground beneath you once broke.
Tyler Callihan Pittsburgh Pirates Los Angeles Dodgers Don Kelly bullpen utility player Truist Park forearm injury Hannah Mears SportsNet Pittsburgh Mookie Betts Andy Pages Miguel Rojas Mookie Betts fly out Kyle Nicolas