“Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, John Jaso.

John Jaso spent the final two years of his MLB career as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he may be best known for embodying the look of a Pirate more so than maybe any other player in this team’s history, Jaso also had several memorable moments as a Pirate, and one in particular dominant performance. 

The Backstory

It was the very tail end of the Pirates’ 2016 season. Sitting at an even 78-78, the Pirates were well out of the playoff picture when they met the Chicago Cubs for their final home series of the season. 

The dominant Chicago Cubs had claimed the first two games of the four game series, which had dipped the Pirates below .500 and brought the Cubs to the first 100+ wins record they had seen since 1910 (the Cubs had finished with exactly 100 wins in 1935). 

John Jaso was just about to wrap up the first of his two seasons as a Pirate, but on a random Wednesday night in September, he was about to make history. 

The Game

The Pirates opened with Jameson Taillon on the mound, who sported a 3.38 ERA in 2016. Taillon was able to get two quick outs, but Anthony Rizzo slammed home a solo home run to open the scoring. The call of it being a home run was reviewed, but ultimately stood and gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the first inning, two straight singles and a wild pitch by Cubs starter Jake Arrieta set up runners on the corners, before Andrew McCutchen was able to bring Adam Frazier home to tie the game at 1-1. 

In the bottom of the second, John Jaso, who was batting 6th that day, was the first up to the plate. He singled into left field to record his first of four hits on the day. His at bat however would be followed by three straight outs, stranding him. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Pirates had runners on first and second base when Jaso was up to bat for the second time. For his second hit of the game, Jaso knocked home a three-run homer, which brought in Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez to give Pittsburgh the lead, 4-1. 

In the following inning, Jaso was up to bat for the third time, with Rodriguez once again in scoring position in second base. For the third time in the game, Jaso hit, and lined one deep to right field to score Rodriguez and put Jaso at second base. 

Jaso would score himself on the next bat, when David Freese also doubled, extending the Pirates’ lead to 5-1. Eric Fryer would also double, scoring Freeze and putting it to 6-1. The Cubs would finally get the third out when Taillon struck out, but that inning would spell the end of Arrieta’s night. 

Chicago was able to recoup some runs in the seventh inning, capitalizing off of shaky pitching by relievers Jared Hughes and Zach Phillips, but the Pirates still held the lead 7-4 when Jaso was up to bat in the bottom of the seventh. 

Jaso smacked a ball deep into center field, just feet away from a second home run. As the ball was coming down, it got stuck at the bottom of the wall, forcing the Cubs’ center fielder to pry it out. Jaso, meanwhile, was set to just take the double, but after seeing the ball still so far away, he ran for third base. The throw came but was well off when Jaso slid into third base, and Jaso looked like he considered trying for home plate, but ultimately stayed at third base. 

In the end, Jaso’s decision to go for and stay at third base had earned him a spot in history. 

His triple had also scored Rodriguez again, giving the Pirates an 8-4 lead. Pittsburgh would win the game with that score, ending a four game skid. 

The Aftermath

John Jaso’s single, double, triple, and home run meant that he hit for the cycle, a historic feat. 

He was the first Pittsburgh Pirate to hit for the cycle in over 12 years, since Daryl Ward in 2004. He was also the first player to hit for the cycle in PNC Park, which has been the Pirates home since 2001. 

Jaso’s performance was the third of its kind during the 2016 season, along with Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman and former Pirate Rajai Davis, who was with Cleveland that season. 

Jaso finished the 2016 year batting .268 with 8 home runs and 42 RBIs. He spent 2017 with the Pirates as well, where his batting average fell to .211, but his home runs rose to 10, which matched his career high.

After the 2017 season, Jaso retired from baseball, saying after his playing days that he hoped to sail the waves of the open ocean in his sailboat. 

His retirement solidified him as a tried and true Pirate.

(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)