Fresh off grand slam, Pirates' Edward Olivares committed to making most of opportunities

From the moment the ball left his bat, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Edward Olivares needed little reassurance that he’d gotten every bit of it.

In the bottom of the third inning of Monday’s series-opening contest against the Angels, with the bases loaded, Olivares crushed the first pitch he saw from Los Angeles starter Tyler Anderson into the left field stands at PNC Park for his first grand slam.

“As soon as I hit that ball, I knew it had a good chance to go out of the field,” Olivares said through translator Stephen Morales. “The most important thing is just trying to help the team win games.”

Andrew McCutchen had drawn a leadoff walk and Bryan Reynolds followed with a double into right field.

Anderson then walked Ke’Bryan Hayes to load the bases for Olivares with one out.

Olivares’ grand slam provided all the offense for the Pirates, who defeated Los Angeles, 4-1, for their third straight win behind Mitch Keller’s second-ever complete game.

Edward Olivares slams a cannonball to the seats!

(MLB x @DairyQueen) pic.twitter.com/MWScVNFm7A

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2024

Keller allowed one run to the Angels and threw 109 pitches in his first complete game since May 8, 2023, against the Colorado Rockies.

The Angels did get on the board in the sixth thanks to a solo homer off the bat of Zach Neto, but Olivares’ grand slam was more than enough cushion.

“It’s a huge boost,” Keller said. “We’ve been struggling (offensively) and just to break it open there … for (Olivares) to crank one out there, I think that just lifted everyone in the dugout and gave us a huge energy boost that we needed.”

In the second inning, before he left the yard, Olivares hit a leadoff double down the left field line off Anderson, with the Pirates ultimately stranding him.

He finished the night 2 for 4 with a run and four RBIs, producing his first multi-hit game since April 11.

Olivares, who made his way to Pittsburgh last December via a minor trade with the Kansas City Royals, has thus far made a modest impact with the Pirates.

On the year, he’s slashing .221/.286/.423 with 12 RBIs in 23 games.

That said, for not being an everyday player, the 28-year-old Olivares’ four home runs are tied for second on the Pirates and only one behind Oneil Cruz’s team-leading five.

Last year with the Royals, Olivares showcased respectable power, hitting a career-high 12 homers in 107 games, the most he’s ever played in a season.

He batted .263 in 2023, .286 over 53 games with the Royals in 2022 and has a career .278 average through 529 minor-league games.

With how matchup-focused manager Derek Shelton is when crafting daily lineups, coupled with fellow righty Connor Joe’s hot start to the year, Olivares has been a player who has gotten the short end of the stick regarding playing time.

“It is hard, for sure,” Olivares said. “But as a professional player, all you do is go about your routine, keep yourself ready and when the time comes, you’re ready for it and to help the team in any way possible.”

With his appearances on the lineup card not exactly constant so far this year, Olivares is dedicated to taking opportunities as they come to him and making the most of his time in the lineup when his number is called.

“Everyday work paid off (Monday),” Olivares said. “Just continue to work and (Monday) was that day to cash in. The results are out there because of the hard work.”

Before Monday, Olivares had not been a strong performer with the bases loaded.

He’d taken 15 career at-bats in that situation with a .133 batting average and no extra-base hits.

On the whole, analytics suggest Olivares has had a more successful season at the plate than his actual numbers offer.

He owns a .320 expected batting average, per Statcast, which ranks in the 97th percentile of MLB.

Similarly, Olivares’ expected slugging percentage is .471, .074 higher than his real-life number.

Internally, the Pirates remain confident in his abilities, particularly offensively.

“This kid can hit,” Shelton said. “I think we knew that when we acquired him. He’s hit at every level he’s been at.”