Jared Jones had waited a year to be cleared to take a the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates, so it made sense his adrenaline was running high and his fastball was coming out hot.
The 24-year-old pitcher topped triple digits on seven consecutive four-seam fastballs in the first inning of his season debut, showing his surgically repaired right elbow was back to form.
Jones recorded six strikeouts in his return, but the ending overshadowed his start. Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer for a 6-5 walk-off win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night before 27,107 at PNC Park.
Spencer Horwitz opened the ninth with a single off lefty Taylor Rodgers to shortstop Ryan Kreidler, who made a diving stop. Tyler Callihan pinch-ran for Horwitz, and the switch-hitting Reynolds rocked a 2-2 sinker 422 feet to the second deck in left field for his sixth homer to provide a thrilling finish.
It was a night of long-awaited returns — not only for Jones but also Derek Shelton, who made his first visit back to Pittsburgh since being fired as Pirates manager May 8, 2025, amid a 12-26 start to his sixth season. Shelton is in his first season as manager of the Twins.
Jones had InternalBrace surgery a few weeks later, missing the 2025 season and the first two months of 2026 while completing a five-start rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues. This marked his first MLB start since Sept. 27, 2024, a 4-2 win at the New York Yankees.
Jones switched his jersey to No. 17, which was previously worn by Shelton, who joked before the game that he wished Jones could have waited until Monday to make his season debut. Jones also switched his warm-up song from “Unwritten” to Luke Combs’ “Back in the Saddle.”
He allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks, threw strikes on 53 of his 77 pitches and averaged 99 mph on 27 fastballs. He mixed in 19 sliders, 16 changeups and 15 curveballs for 11 called strikes and 15 whiffs.
The Pirates right-hander struck out leadoff batter Byron Buxton on a 100.7 mph four-seam fastball and got Brooks Lee to ground out to shortstop. It wasn’t until after Kody Clemens sent a 1-0 fastball 365 feet into the right-field seats for his sixth home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead that Jones threw a secondary offering.
His first pitch to Josh Bell was a curveball for a swinging strike, followed by a 101.2 mph heater for a called strike. Jones then threw back-to-back sliders before getting Bell to line out to second base with a 101.5 mph fastball to end the frame.
The Twins’ lead didn’t last long. Brandon Lowe and Reynolds drew successive four-pitch walks off Taj Bradley, and Nick Gonzales hit a slow roller to third base that Lee made an errant throw on, allowing Lowe to score and tie it 1-1. Reynolds then scored on Oneil Cruz’s groundout to first for the lead.
Rookie Konnor Griffin, serving as designated hitter for the first time while dealing with a right forearm muscle strain, singled through the middle to drive in Gonzales and give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
Jones didn’t touch triple digits again, though his velocity only dropped a tick in a 25-pitch second inning. After Trevor Larnach hit a leadoff single, Jones walked Austin Martin and Victor Caratini to load the bases. Jones struck out Luke Keaschall on a curveball, but Tristan Gray hit a two-run single to tie the score before Buxton grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
With two outs in the third, Bell singled through third base and Larnach followed by driving Jones’ 98.1 mph first-pitch fastball 424 feet to clear the right-field seats for a 5-3 lead. Larnach became the 54th player to deposit a ball in the Allegheny River.
The Pirates answered with two outs in the bottom of the third, when Cruz crushed Bradley’s 3-1 cutter 450 feet and over the right-field seats for his 12th homer to cut it to 5-4. It was Cruz’s seventh home run ball to land in the Allegheny, and he’s also the seventh to do so on the fly.
Jones recorded a scoreless fourth inning. After giving up a leadoff single to Caratini, he got Kearschall to pop up to second then struck out Gray and Buxton to finish the frame.
Lee singled to start the fifth, then Jones got Clemens swinging on a slider in the dirt to end his outing with a strikeout. The Pirates turned to lefty Evan Sisk for the final two outs.
The Pirates got four strikeouts in three scoreless innings from rookie Wilber Dotel. But they stranded runners in the sixth and seventh innings before their fortunes changed in the eighth. Cruz drew a leadoff walk, and Griffin reached on a fielder’s choice and an error by Gray at shortstop that allowed Cruz to advance to third. Griffin stole second base to put two runners in scoring position with no outs.
Again, the Pirates came up empty. Endy Rodriguez struck out, then pinch hitter Jake Mangum then grounded to Clemens at first base, who threw to Caratini to get a sliding Cruz out at the plate. Jared Triolo lined out to right to end the rally, leaving the Pirates still trailing by a run.