Cole Young hit a two-run homer off Mitch Keller in the seventh to lead the Mariners past the Pirates 3-2 on Tuesday.
Young grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, so hitting a big homer in his first career game at PNC Park must be a dream come true. If the Pirates had it to do over again, they’d happily take him instead of fellow high school infielder Termarr Johnson with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft. Young, though, ended up going 21st to the Mariners. Young is hitting .253/.319/.372 with seven homers through 80 games as a 22-year-old sophomore, making him pretty close to a league average hitter once playing in T-Mobile Park gets factored in, and is playing well above average defense at second in the process.
