PITTSBURGH – TJ Friedl hooked a solo homer into the right-field seats in the fifth inning Friday, producing a swing that kept a hanging curveball from drifting to the wrong side of the foul pole, but that wasn’t the hardest part.
No, the most difficult thing for Friedl was trying to keep a straight face as he rounded the bases, and his family members had the loudest voices in the PNC Park crowd of 17,706.
Friedl grew up about 15 miles away from downtown Pittsburgh in Moon Township, so he always has a lot of family and friends when he plays games against the Pirates.