young fan – Esmerlyn Valdez hit his first career home run for the Pirates in Toronto, then faced the surprise of a silent dugout welcome. After his ball was caught by a fan at Rogers Centre, the Pirates’ bullpen negotiated a two-for-one swap—an autographed bat and hat—so
Sunday in Toronto didn’t start like a coronation for Esmerlyn Valdez. Pittsburgh was already holding a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning against the Blue Jays when the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect finally arrived at his first big moment wearing black and yellow.
Valdez turned on Dylan Cease—his team’s earlier momentum against Toronto’s pitching already fresh in the game—and sent an opposite-field two-run shot 345 feet. It was his first career hit and home run. The blast hit the stands at Rogers Centre hard enough to silence the home crowd. and when Valdez trotted around the bases. the thought that landed in his mind was simple: “Wow. I made it.”.
Then he walked back into the dugout, and the atmosphere didn’t match the achievement.
“When I came into the dugout, I’m like, ‘Come on guys, what’s happening?’” Valdez said of receiving the silent treatment. “Then when they came close to me and gave me the hugs and all that, it felt really good.”
The likely reason sat right outside the stadium’s spotlight: the home run ball was caught by a young fan in the crowd, and the Pirates weren’t just trying to celebrate the milestone—they were trying to get it back.
While Valdez was settling in after his first Major League home run, the Pittsburgh bullpen—led by reliever Justin Lawrence—went to work bargaining with the fan. What followed was a negotiation that started as a tough tug-of-war and ended as a deal strong enough to bring the moment full circle.
The result was a blockbuster trade: an autographed bat and hat for the milestone baseball.
“Once we found it, the kid came running up, and in my head I was kind of like, ‘Thank goodness it’s a kid, this should be very easy,’” Lawrence said. “[But] right away he goes, ‘I think I’m going to keep it.’”
Getting the deal wasn’t just a feel-good sidelight. For Lawrence, it was about what that ball meant for the player who had finally broken through.
“It’s such a special moment for [Valdez],” Lawrence said. “I don’t know how often a guy gets his first home run ball back, so just having an opportunity to be able to get it for him was awesome.”
The Pirates’ victory—4-1—came with an extra layer of relief because the series against Toronto hadn’t offered much offensive rhythm early on. Before Valdez’s home run, Pittsburgh’s bats had been quiet north of the border. The first two games opened with two separate offensive bursts, but the overall output still left questions hanging.
In the first game of the series, Spencer Horwitz—one of Pittsburgh’s former Blue Jays, a 24th-rounder—delivered on Dylan Cease’s first pitch of the afternoon. Oneil Cruz followed in the second inning with a 415-foot homer of his own.
Horwitz said that in a place he knew well, the moment landed even harder. “Definitely one of my favorite homers so far. ” he said of his big fly in his first trip back to Toronto. “To be able to do it back here and do it with a team I’m wanted on. it’s definitely great. And it seemed to get the guys going a little bit.”.
Even with those bright spots, Pittsburgh recorded just two extra-base hits and four total runs through the first two games of the series. Instead of folding, the team pushed back—avoiding a series sweep and getting back over .500—by delivering a strong response against Cease and Toronto’s bullpen.
Manager Don Kelly pointed directly to the sequence that mattered. “We’ve talked about being able to score early on in games,” Kelly said. “To get one pitch in and [have Horwitz] hit the ball like that and then Cruz to follow it up and get up 2-0 was really big.”
If the earlier homers were a sign the offense could still turn the corner, Valdez’s Sunday blast looked like the arrival of something heavier—an impact bat finally landing in a major spot to cap his first weekend in the Majors.
Valdez’s homer also came with the kind of detail hitters live for: Kelly and the team had talked about his power stroke, and Sunday it showed up cleanly. The 79.5 mph sweeper from sidewinder Chase Lee was sent out to right field.
“He’s got that kind of pop,” Kelly said. “I think to get the one out of the way. You’re always looking for that first one, 1779837366 he can breathe and relax.”
Valdez was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and a walk through his first two games after joining the Pirates’ clubhouse on Friday for his MLB debut. Despite that rough start, he kept his focus on what comes next. His goal. he said. was “going to do my job to help the team win and [continuing] to be the best version of myself.”.
Sunday’s home run changed the tone around him. Even his welcome back to the dugout carried a story of its own—silence first, then the hugs when the moment landed and the ball was accounted for.
Now Pittsburgh is hoping Valdez’s “best” isn’t just a one-game breakthrough. After a season spent building towards this, the Pirates can at least say the first milestone is already in hand—and that the kid who caught the ball didn’t give it up without a fight.
Esmerlyn Valdez Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays Rogers Centre first career home run Justin Lawrence Spencer Horwitz Oneil Cruz Dylan Cease Chase Lee