PITTSBURGH -- Cole Tucker tries to not look ahead. He keeps the MLB and Minor League calendars to the side. But when he was called up to the Angels on April 29, he couldn’t help but notice that a special team was on the docket a week later.

Tucker, a first-round Draft pick by the Pirates in the 2014 Draft, returned to where it all began. PNC Park was home to his Major League debut, one in which he hit his first career homer to score the winning runs. It was the place where he became a fan favorite for his energy, his smiles and even his long locks.

So when Tucker stepped to the plate in the third inning of the Angels’ 4-1 loss to the Pirates on Monday night, even though there was no videoboard tribute, he got a hearty ovation from the home crowd.

His first test at his former home park? His best friend.

Tucker and the Angels faced Pirates starter Mitch Keller. Tucker said the two spent every day together for almost eight years. They were drafted on the same day, and they met each other the same day at the Pirates’ complex in Florida. It went far beyond baseball: Tucker served as a groomsman in Keller’s wedding -- and in true Tucker flair, he even played drums during the wedding reception.

“Now, [those meetings] are few and far between, but we’re still just as close,” Tucker said.

Their first meeting of the day between the two came before the first at-bat.

“We were just BSing in the tunnel a second ago,” Tucker said. “He was like, ‘Dude, I’m just going to be out there smiling.’ And I’m like, ‘Don’t smile, you’ll make me laugh.’”

Tucker got the first laugh, drawing a walk to end Keller’s run of seven straight batters retired to start the game. He struck out his second time up. Then, with the Angels down three in the eighth, Tucker just narrowly missed the barrel for a loud flyout to right-center field that had Keller peeking toward the warning track. As Tucker rounded the bases back to the Angels’ dugout, Keller flashed a smile his way, knowing it was a little too close for comfort.

“I’m glad I got him out, but he almost got me there,” Keller said.

Tucker has come a long way since his days with the Pirates. He began the 2021 season, one in which he played 43 games, as the odd man out in a three-shortstop race for the Opening Day roster. More shockingly, he didn’t begin the season on a Minor League roster. Instead, the Pirates sent him to their Florida complex to work on “skills development.” After he ended the season with a cathartic game in which he made a spectacular catch and crushed a grand slam, he admitted that there are “moments as a big leaguer where you don’t feel like a big leaguer.”

“When I was here, I was just trying to survive and show that I’m worthy of being here. And I didn’t really have the tools personally to do that yet,” Tucker said on Saturday. “I was just too young and not ready.”

The results never really became consistent. He was designated for assignment on May 30, 2022, and claimed off waivers by the D-backs. He elected free agency at the end of the season, joined the Rockies for the next campaign, then elected free agency once again at the end of ‘23.

But instead of it becoming a situation in which he lost hope that he’d ever become an everyday Major Leaguer, Tucker took the rocky road as an opportunity to soak up as much information as he could. That’s led him to the success he’s enjoyed so far in 2024, as he posted a .313/.439/.469 line in 10 games at Triple-A Salt Lake before notching five hits in his first 14 at-bats in Los Angeles, including two doubles and two walks.

“That’s the game: You learn as you go,” Tucker said. “I’m really thankful for where I’m at now, and thankful for all the people that poured into me over there, too.”

It’s too soon to tell if Tucker has found a landing spot for a while and the consistency to stick there. But returning to the place where his journey began, he could only smile thinking about how far he’s come.

“When I was here in Pittsburgh, unfortunately I wasn’t a very good Major League hitter,” Tucker said. “I was trying to figure it out and learn on the fly, but I feel like in the last couple of years I’ve honed in my process and my craft. And I’m doing stuff that’s repeatable and makes sense for me and allows me to go out and have the best chance for success.”