Ryan O'Hearn's epic night: 10 RBIs, three homers - but he passed on a fourth

Given a chance at major league history under suboptimal circumstances, Ryan O'Hearn shortened up, rolled a single into right field, took his team-record 10 RBIs and went home.

Four home runs would have to wait for another night after O'Hearn began his night with a grand slam, followed by a three-run homer — and then another three-run homer in a 12-4Pittsburgh Pirates win against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, July 7 at PNC Park.

Yet given a chance to tie a major-league record with his fourth home run, O'Hearn strolled to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and discovered he'd be attempting the feat against a position player.

Not only that, but Braves infielder Jorge Mateo was a former O'Hearn teammate in Baltimore. So after flailing at Mateo's first pitch, O'Hearn shortened his stroke and sent a little single into right field. Upon reaching first, he nodded at Mateo and grinned.

No history. But still plenty to smile about.

O'Hearn has been the best buy for the Pirates this year, now with 16 homers, 64 RBIs and an .820 OPS. On Tuesday, he victimized Braves starter Hurston Waldrep for a grand slam and three-run homer in the first and third innings, and then popped a third homer off reliever Connor Thomas.

And now, he holds the club record for RBIs for a franchise that began play in 1882. It's the first 10-RBI game in the majors since Shohei Ohtani did it in 2022; slugger Mark Reynolds had the previous feat, in 2018.

MORE: The Pirates finally spent some money. You'll never guess what happened next.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan O'Hearn's epic night: 10 RBIs, three homers - but he passed on a fourth