Pirates Opening Day Highlights - Friday, April 5, 2024
The Pirates will return to PNC Park on Friday, April 5, against the Baltimore Orioles following their season-opening seven-game road trip to Miami and Washington.
The Opening Day pregame is scheduled to begin at approximately 3:35 p.m. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats early to ensure they do not miss a moment of the special ceremonies.
Friday, April 5, 2024—Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles (4:12 p.m.) Home Opener
• Magnetic Schedule Day: All fans in attendance will receive a Pirates 2024 magnetic schedule, presented by Ford.
• Gate Time: PNC Park gates will open to ALL FANS at 2:12 p.m.
• Pirates Pregame: All fans in attendance are encouraged to be in their seats by 3:30 p.m. as Pirates play-by-play broadcaster Greg Brown will welcome everyone to PNC Park for the 2024 Home Opener and begin the pregame ceremony.
• Hayes Gold Glove: Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes will be presented his 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove. Steve Cohen from Rawlings will be on hand to present the award. Hayes is the first Pirates third baseman to win the award.
• Lineup: Members of the Pirates and Orioles will take part in player introductions on the infield lines.
• Color Guard: The Pirates are proud to welcome members of the United States 316th Sustainment Command Color Guard.
• God Bless America: Performed by Sergeant Joseph Dukes of the United States Air Force. While deployed to Qatar in 2021, he played a direct role in the expeditious evacuation of 124,000 Afghan refugees and American citizens out of Afghanistan, officially known as Operation Allies Refuge.
• National Anthem: The National Anthem will be performed by the Grammy award-winning musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Brass Section.
• Aerial Demonstration: Team Fast Trax will be deploying two para jumpers to land in PNC Park as part of the pregame ceremonies (weather permitting). The para jumpers will display the American flag as well as the Jolly Roger. Jumping for Team Fast Trax will be Nicole Condrey, a member of the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Veterans Advisory Board and a proud member of the United States Parachute team. Joining Nicole on the jump will be Larry Compton, with 23 years skydiving and over 9,000 jumps; Compton holds two Guiness
book of World Records as a big flag specialist.
• Ceremonial First Pitch: Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, in honor of his upcoming induction into Cooperstown, will be Hall of Fame manager and Pittsburgh resident Jim Leyland. Leyland began his Major League managerial career with the Pirates in 1986 and led the Bucs to three straight division titles from 1990-92 while amassing 851 victories in his 11 seasons with the club.
• Pirates Charities 50/50 Raffle: Pirates Charities will once again offer fans the opportunity to purchase 50/50 Raffle tickets this season to support the work of Pirates Charities right here in our community. Prior to first pitch, fans will receive “early bird” pricing at the $50 price point and receive 200 tickets for the price of 100. In addition, as a special for the Home Opener, fans will receive 412 tickets at the $100 price point throughout the game. Fans can purchase tickets from kiosks or roaming sellers throughout the ballpark until the end of the sixth inning.