It came at an opportune time. The Guardians were clinging to a 1-0 lead against Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, one of the top pitchers in baseball. Manzardo hit the first pitch he saw, a 93 mph split-finger fastball, and he hit all of it.

The Cleveland Guardians figured to have a tough time hitting the ball in their Saturday afternoon game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The home team had ace pitcher Paul Skenes on the mound, and that meant that runs were likely to be at a premium.

First, Kyle Manzardo played lift-off. Then, he played splash down. Manzardo crushed a solo homer off Paul Skenes on Saturday, in the Guardians’ 3-0 win over the Pirates, that landed in the Allegheny River behind right field on a couple of bounces.