The Pittsburgh Pirates have high hopes of changing their status in the baseball world. Instead of a losing record, there is every hope that the Pirates have improved enough and the kind of talent that will allow them to put a winning record together. The change in expectations has much to do with the presence of two players — star pitcher Paul Skenes and rookie phenom Konor Griffin.

After a brilliant performance in spring training, the 19-year-old Griffin has already been promoted by the Pirates. He made his debut in Friday's home opener against the Baltimore Orioles and he had a spectacular opening act. While Griffin may end up hitting much higher in the lineup than the seventh he batted in the home opener for the Pirates, he made the most of his situation.

Griffin hit a booming RBI double in his first at bat for the Pirates in the second inning. That led to a standing ovation from the appreciative Pittsburgh crowd. After the two-base hit, Jared Triolo laced an RBI single to right field. That allowed Griffin to show off his speed. He raced around third and made a head-first dive into home plate, beating the throw by a clear second.

“It was everything I hoped it would be,” Grffin said when he was interviewed by the MLB Network after the 5-4 Pittsburgh victory. “It was just awesome. That first at bat, I was expecting a fastball and it never came. It was just slow stuff and I made the adjustment. I was geared up for the hard stuff, but it is what it is.”