Brandon Lowe (fourth from left), Tony Beasley (fifth from left) and other Pirates players and coaches at the team's annual Faith Night, May 2, 2026. (Photo via X/@TheBuccosFan)
God was glorified Saturday evening at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, and not because the Pirates scored a season-high in runs on their way to a 17-7 demolition of the Cincinnati Reds.
Following the offensive explosion, the Pirates hosted their annual Faith Night with many of their coaches and players present. Despite the cold, many fans attended the event to worship God through live music and prayer, and to hear from former and current players about all the ways God has been at work in their lives. The inspiring evening ended with a prayer asking for all those in attendance to be ambassadors for the glory of God.
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The Pirates held their first Faith Night in 2013, and the annual tradition has become a highly anticipated event on the season calendar.
Pittsburgh players who participated in this year’s event included Bubba Chandler, Billy Cook, Brandon Lowe, Konnor Griffin, Jake Mangum, Isaac Mattson and Ryan O’Hearn. Manager Don Kelly, coaches Matt Hague and Tony Beasley, and studio analyst Michael McKenry were also present.
Third-base coach Beasley and McKenry (a former Pirates player from 2011-13) both shared their powerful testimonies of how God drew them to Himself.
“For me, [baseball is] just a platform,” Beasley said. “This is a platform God has given me. All through my whole career in baseball, I’ve just committed myself to try to stay true to who I am and who God is and really means in my life. … My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life.”
After Beasley and McKenry spoke, two current players were interviewed by Pirates in-game host Joe Klimchak about their faith: relief pitcher Isaac Mattson and second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Mattson spoke first, revealing the unfathomable pain he endured at the loss of his mother by suicide in 2021.
“God’s big enough for those hard conversations, for those times when we are frustrated and going through the hardest seasons of our life,” he said. “God’s big enough for that, and to take our cares and our worries and our anxieties to Him in those moments, I was just constantly reminded of that throughout the course of that season of my life.”
Mattson also talked about rooting his identity in Someone much bigger than baseball.
“It’s kind of cliche to say that we’re not defined by the results on the field, but it is so true,” he said. “Regardless of how tough that day was, and sometimes even how successful that day was, it’s always important to remember that we’re not defined by who we are as baseball players. … We’re God’s children.”
Lowe, in his first season with the Pirates after eight with the Tampa Bay Rays, echoed his teammate’s sentiment.
“Baseball is what I do, it’s not who I am,” the two-time All-Star said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, and the one thing that stands out. We’re led by God.”
“[God is] the greatest Father,” Lowe said. “… You go back and read the Bible, people go against what God’s telling them to do and He [says], ‘I’m gonna keep making you go the right way, whether or not you know it or not.’
“I’m just trying to be as Godly as I can.”
As many Pirates players seek to establish Godly rhythms early in a long baseball season, they find themselves four games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Pittsburgh (19-16) begins a three-game road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (16-17) on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. ET.
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