PITTSBURGH — Billy Cook was spending his Saturday evening how he normally would, playing video games online with his former minor-league teammates from his days in the Baltimore Orioles system. An avid gamer, few things could pry the 25-year-old away from a round of “Fortnite” with his pals, but two calls within the same hour from Indianapolis Indians manager Miguel Perez seemed, to him, as a worthy reason to hit the pause button.

“He says, 'Hey, you didn't come to my office,’ ” Cook recalled with a smile. “I was like, 'You didn't tell me to come to your office. I'm in the hotel.' He basically asked me if I wanted to play tomorrow and said if I wanted to, I had to hit a home run. I was like, 'Alright, play me, and we'll see if I can hit another one.' He said, 'Would you rather do it in Toledo or Pittsburgh?' I immediately said, ‘Pittsburgh.'”

The next morning, Cook made the drive from Toledo, where he had been playing with Triple-A Indianapolis, to the Steel City. He pulled into town just two hours before Sunday’s contest. And once he arrived, Cook wasted no time getting involved, making a pair of big plays in the first inning of his big-league debut that set the tone for a 7-3 Pirates victory over the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.

“Give him a ton of credit,” manager Derek Shelton said of Cook. “You have to get up in the morning and drive from Toledo, get here at 11:30, go out and take ground-balls at 11:45 and play in your first major-league game. Did a nice job.”

Cook’s first big play came just three batters into the game. With a runner on first and one out, Nationals designated hitter Andres Chaparro fouled a ball down the first-base line. Cook, who started at first base, ran down the sinking bloop in foul territory and snagged the ball just before it could hit the net.

Just after the ball found his mitt, Cook connected with the padding on the wall along the first-base line, throwing his entire body into the netting. But while the rookie lost his hat, he managed to hold on for the out.

“Good to get the first one out of the way,” Cook said. “Pop flies, I'm a little more accustomed to those, so the first one, that was kinda nice."

Cook provided one more thrill for fans in the back half of the first inning. After watching Joey Bart put his team on the board with a two-run homer to left field, Cook added to the club’s lead in his first big-league plate appearance, tagging Nationals starter Patrick Corbin for a two-out, two-run book-rule double down the left-field line. Cook added another hit to his credit later on, smacking a single to center field in the bottom of the eighth.

Just a month-and-a-half ago, Cook was one of many promising young hitters within the Baltimore Orioles organization. Loaded with more than a few higher-rated prospects at his position, Cook’s big-league future had more questions than answers. But in late July, a new opportunity arrived when he was acquired by the Pirates.

Cook caught the attention of a few of his teammates thanks to solid production in the minor leagues, earning a call-up to the majors after just 30 games in the Pirates farm system. Now in the show, he hopes to keep turning heads.

“I think he makes a great impression for Pirates fans when he dives into the stands for his first putout and then comes up and hits a double,” Shelton said. “Overall, a really good debut.”

“It still feels surreal to be here, but I'm glad it happened,” Cook said. “We'll keep going. You get one debut — that's what they all say. It was definitely one to remember."

On the mound

While Cook gave himself a strong introduction to Pirates fans, his rookie teammate Jared Jones provided a strong reminder of why they should be encouraged about the club’s starting pitching moving forward. After a rocky start during which he surrendered a pair of runs in the first two frames, the 23-year-old right-hander locked in to deliver his best five-inning stretch of his big-league career, retiring the final 16 batters he faced.

Jones finished the afternoon having allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits. He walked no batters and struck out nine. Six of those nine strikeouts were against the final nine batters he faced. He was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 6-7 on the season.

“I think the thing that was most impressive is he gave up some runs early, and I don’t think he allowed another baserunner the entire time, so I think he was in control,” Shelton said of Jones. “We’ve seen him give up runs and then walk a guy, and he didn’t [Sunday]. He got himself out of jams, so it was very impressive.”

A large factor in Jones’ success Sunday was his extra use of the curveball. Entering Sunday’s outing, the curve accounted for just 7.2% of the pitches he had thrown this season. Jones threw the curve 27 times against Washington, 16 more than he has in any big-league start. The curve generated six whiffs on 10 swings and accounted for three of his nine strikeouts.

"Yeah, I think the scouting report is fastball-slider. And if it's anything else, just spit [on it]; it's probably not going to be a strike,” Jones said. “Getting that one down feels pretty good."

At the plate

Cook was one of four Pirates who tallied a multi-hit game, the other three being Andrew McCutchen, Nick Gonzales and Bryan De La Cruz. McCutchen and Michael A. Taylor both tagged Corbin, the game’s losing pitcher, for a solo homer. Taylor’s homer marked No. 100 in his big-league career. In total, the Pirates finished with 12 hits, six going for extra bases.

"Kind of exploded there,” Jones said of the offense. “It's fun to see. I knew I just had to lock it down and we'd win the game."

They said it

"I spent three weeks in Indy for my rehab before I came up here,” Jones said of Cook. “I got to watch Billy a lot. I knew it was just a matter of time. He's just a really good baseball player. It's fun to watch him."

Up next

Monday: Marlins at Pirates, 6:40 p.m. ET, PNC Park

Probable pitchers: RHP Valente Bellozo (2-2, 3.78) for Marlins; RHP Paul Skenes (9-2, 2.13) for Pirates

Key matchup: Skenes has won each of his last three decisions since being charged with his second career loss on Aug. 10 at Dodger Stadium.

Hidden stat: Cook became the fifth player to make his MLB debut with the Pirates this season, joining Jones, Skenes, Grant Koch and Brady Feigl.

Tuesday: Marlins at Pirates, 6:40 p.m., PNC Park

Probable pitchers: RHP Adam Oller (1-2, 4.15 ERA) for Marlins; TBA for Pirates

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