Pirates Pitcher Responds Candidly to Rough Start
A Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher isn’t stressing over a rough start to the season.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had a tough beginning to their 2025 season, struggling during their opening series.
After leaving Bradenton, Florida, they headed straight to Miami to face the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park for a four-game series. The Pirates managed to win only one game, starting with a 1-3 record against a Marlins team that finished last in the National League last season with a 62-100 record.
Andrew Heaney, the Pirates’ left-handed pitcher, made his first start with the team in the fourth and final game of the series on March 30.
Heaney turned in a strong performance, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing just four hits, one walk, and one earned run, while striking out two batters on 79 pitches.
One of his key moments came during the final at-bat he faced. With a 2-2 count and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Marlins second baseman Otto Lopez was up with left fielder Javier Sanoja on second base. Heaney threw a high fastball that Lopez swung at and sent deep into center-right field.
Pirates right fielder Bryan Reynolds made a spectacular diving catch, ending the inning and preserving the Pirates’ 2-1 lead going into the sixth. However, Pittsburgh failed to score again, and a combination of poor base running, defense, and pitching led to a 3-2 loss.
After the game, Heaney wasn’t concerned about the team’s slow start, pointing out that the season had only just begun.
“F*** it, it’s early,” Heaney said.
Andrew Heaney summing things up. 😂 #Pirates pic.twitter.com/zaOOvbcIWs
— David Todd (@DTonPirates) March 30, 2025
Heaney signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal this offseason, which could increase with incentives. Last year, he posted a 4.28 ERA with 159 strikeouts over 160 innings in 31 starts for the Texas Rangers. In 2023, he helped the Rangers win their first World Series with a 4.15 ERA across 147 1/3 innings and 34 appearances, 28 of which were starts.
A former first-round pick, Heaney spent most of his major league career with the Los Angeles Angels, where he posted a 4.51 ERA and 593 strikeouts over 569 1/3 innings from 2015 to the 2021 trade deadline, when he was traded to the New York Yankees.
The Pirates will remain in Florida for their next series, facing the Tampa Bay Rays for three games starting March 31.
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