Welcome to The Show: Gorski blasts homer in first career at-bat

ANAHEIM -- Matt Gorski and his Indianapolis Indians (Pirates Triple-A affiliate) teammates were starting to put two and two together when manager Chris Truby made some late lineup changes and Gorski was missing. He’d been on the precipice of the Majors for years, but when arguably the hottest hitter is sitting a doubleheader and feels fine, it usually means one thing.

The call had finally come.

Gorski had a hectic day in front of him. He had to tell his family the news that he was finally a big leaguer. He had had to pack. He had to get from St. Paul, Minn., to Los Angeles. It was going to be a hectic stretch that started with a call to his family at 4:30 p.m. CT and didn’t wrap until he reached his hotel at about 2 a.m. PT.

There was a lot on the agenda and not a lot of time to do it, but Truby had one bit of advice: Pick a nice outfit for his first day as a Major Leaguer.

"I've been carrying a nice outfit in my travel bag for two and a half years,” Gorski told reporters at Angel Stadium Thursday ahead of the Pirates' 4-3 loss. “It's finally going to pay off for me."

That outfit has changed many times in those two and a half years, based on where the Pirates may be traveling. Gorski rolled in Thursday with a polka-dotted button-down and light jeans, hoping to bring in a bit of a California vibe.

The Pirates would probably be happy if he just kept up whatever vibe he had in Indianapolis at the plate. Gorski was hitting .300 with seven doubles, three home runs and an .854 OPS over 70 at-bats before getting the call. That was an extension of a torrid Spring Training, where he led the team with four home runs.

Now, at 27 years old and having spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, Gorski is getting his first look in the Majors.

He wasted no time showing how he can make an impact in his Major League debut, launching a Tyler Anderson fastball 434 feet for a home run in his first at-bat. With an exit velocity of 115.2 mph, it is tied with Jake Burger for the hardest-hit first home run in the Statcast era.

It was eye-opening to some, but not if you know how Gorski performs when he’s promoted.

“Every level besides Triple-A, my first hit has been a homer,” Gorski said. “That's something that I'm going to take home, I guess. That's how I've started other levels before, so it was cool to start the Major League level like that."

• Players with home run in first at-bat

Gorski has shown for a couple of years now that he has pop, homering 23 times last season, his third straight of at least 20 round trippers. It was the strikeouts and whiffs that were keeping him in the Minors. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Gorski was part of the conversation to be on the Opening Day team and cited some adjustments the hitting group has made with Gorski as what stood out to him about the outfielder this spring.

It’s a game of adjustments, and showing that ability to make changes stood out to Shelton. While Gorski’s whiff rate is still high, it took a noticeable dip with Indianapolis, going from 37.3% in 2024 to 32.1% in 2025.

“We saw improvement of that during Spring Training, and he had a good spring and then he’s carried that over into Indianapolis,” Shelton said. “I think the one thing we do know about him is his ability to impact the ball. He can make ballparks look small, he’s got some power.”

For Gorski, it’s been less about tweaks lately and more about carrying over that confidence he was able to establish in Spring Training. He showed he could hang with the best. Now, he just needs to continue to show that.

"I think it's just confidence of you're on the field with those guys, you're putting up numbers,” Gorski said. “... Getting those reps in, seeing that you can do it with those guys against big league pitchers gives you the confidence to do it."

More homers like Thursday's would certainly help Gorski cement his place on the team and justify why fans had been clamoring on social media for him to get this chance.

“You don't have those fans until you start producing on the field and you do stuff on the field,” Gorski said pregame. “Hopefully they still are fans after a couple of weeks.”