PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Pirates began 2020 with plenty of questions. The truncated 60-game schedule provided few answers save for one: Ke'Bryan Hayes can play. Really, really play.

The rookie third baseman's splashy debut - one that finished with a flourish thanks to an eight-game hitting streak that raised his average to an eye-popping .376 - provided an incandescent silver lining in a season at times felt epically long. Losing a major-league high 41 games will do that. Still, Hayes proved he belonged during his first taste of the bigs.

"I was just so excited to finally get the opportunity to come up here," said Hayes, who showed a flair for the dramatic by homering in his debut on Sept. 1. "Just wanted to show what I could do and go out there, try to play to the best of my ability."