Brandon Lowe had played only for the Tampa Bay Rays before Thursday.

The Rays selected Lowe in the third round of the 2015 amateur draft from the University of Maryland. He made his major-league debut in 2018 and spent eight seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates last December.

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Lowe couldn’t have made much of a bigger impression than he did in his Pirates’ debut, hitting two home runs in his first two plate appearances in an 11-7 loss to the Mets at Citi Field in New York.

The second baseman was just the fourth player in franchise history to homer in his first plate appearance. He joined a list that includes John Vander Wal (2000), Reggie Sanders (2003), and Edward Olivares (2024).

Lowe was also the seventh Pittsburgh player to hit two home runs on opening day. The others: Dale Long (1956), Richie Hebner (1974), Willie Stargell (1975), Andy Van Slyke (1990), Xavier Nady (2008), and Garrett Jones (2010).

The last player to have at least three RBIs in his Pirates’ debut was Marlon Byrd in 2013.

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Reflecting on his debut, Lowe told reporters after the game: “It’s pretty cool. There is never a thought through your mind to put yourself in a record book or anything like that. You go out there and roll off the good at-bats and good things come from them.”

Looking ahead, Lowe will try to have more good at-bats on Saturday when Pittsburgh and the Mets meet in the second game of the three-game series after being off on Friday. Mitch Keller (6-15, 4.19 ERA in 2025) will pitch for the Pirates, facing left-hander David Peterson (9-6, 4.22).

As for the pitching matchup, Keller is 4-2 with a 2.06 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. Peterson has made five appearances against Pittsburgh, making four starts, and going 0-1 with a 4.71 ERA.

The Pirates have a new home run celebration this spring. The player hitting the homer wears a welder’s mask, which celebrates Pittsburgh’s steelmaking history, while going through a dugout gauntlet.

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Lowe was the first Pirates player to wear the mask.

For Lowe, it was a meaningful start with his new team. “With a new team, you want to make a good impression,” the 31-year-old Lowe said. “It’s nice to get the ball rolling pretty early.”

Finally, Pittsburgh hopes the two-time All-Star can perform the way he did with the Rays after failing to homer in 36 plate appearances in Grapefruit League play during spring training. In 745 career games with Tampa Bay, Lowe hit .247/.326/.481 with 159 home runs.

Rays manager Kevin Cash echoes this optimism, emphasizing that Lowe brings more to the Pirates than just a powerful bat.

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“He’s been there and done that,” Cash said. “He’s been a part of postseason teams. He’s had some of the most impactful at-bats in games and situations when everything’s on the line. And he’s dealt with having a lot of success, and he’s also dealt with having some struggles that he needed to overcome, and he did that. Whatever team he was going to go to, he was going to be a welcome addition.”

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