Pirates reliever Yerry De Los Santos collects 1st MLB win in Milwaukee

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Friday night win in Milwaukee had no shortage of exciting moments.

En route to their 8-4 victory, the Pirates hit four home runs, with Alfonso Rivas, Henry Davis, Josh Palacios and Bryan Reynolds all going deep.

Rivas finished the night a double short of the cycle, with Reynolds, Davis and Alika Williams contributing multiple hits to the winning effort.

But for all the home runs and offense, an accomplishment that perhaps got overshadowed by game’s end was right-handed reliever Yerry De Los Santos picking up his first big-league win.

Friday’s starter, Quinn Priester, lasted just four innings, not enough to qualify for a win or loss.

Replacing him in the bottom of the fifth was De Los Santos, who struck out Willy Adames and Sal Frelick before allowing a single to Mark Canha.

The next batter De Los Santos faced, Brian Anderson, grounded out to end the inning.

“It feels really good,” De Los Santos said through translator Stephen Morales on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “I’ve been pitching in some tough situations and finally got something to prove right there, so it feels pretty good.”

De Los Santos has made 20 appearances out of the Pirates bullpen this season, compiling a 1-1 record and 3.18 ERA.

The 25-year-old right-hander, a native of Samana, Dominican Republic, signed with the Pirates in 2014 as an international free agent when he was 16.

After navigating his way through the club’s farm system, De Los Santos made his big-league debut May 25 last year against the Colorado Rockies.

As a rookie in 2022, he showed promise over the summer months, but two late-season outings in September, in which he allowed a combined seven runs in two-thirds of an inning of work, spiked his ERA to 4.91 on the year.

In 22 2/3 innings of work this season, he has struck out 17 with 13 walks, allowing 15 hits. Opponents are hitting just .185 off him.