Konnor Griffin swiped his left hand across home plate, then pumped his right fist while shouting with excitement. The 20-year-old Pirates shortstop returned from the 60-day injured list on Friday and instantly showed off his patented elite speed. In the bottom of the second inning, Jake Mangum ripped a double down the right-field line. Griffin raced around from first to home in 10.14 seconds at a sprint speed of 29.1 feet per second, and dove headfirst past the tag, despite the throw beating him to the plate. “I was just laying my body on the line, trying to score a run, and when you've been out so long, it means a lot when good stuff happens,” Griffin said postgame. “I normally don't show too much emotion, but guess it came out of me. I was pretty fired up.” Griffin’s run jump-started a 1-0 win for the Pirates over the Angels on Friday night at PNC Park to start a three-game series. Griffin finished 0-for-3, but he scored the only run of the game, while starter Jared Jones struck out nine over six scoreless innings before the bullpen took care of the rest. Pirates manager Don Kelly said pregame that they would ease Griffin back into game action. He batted sixth and played shortstop on his first eligible day to return from the IL. As Griffin raced around the bases Friday, two months of pent-up jubilation let loose. It was anything but easing back in. Angels right fielder Wade Meckler corralled the ball and fired it to the cutoff man just as Griffin stumbled around third base. Griffin never looked at the ball, only keeping his eye on the movements of catcher Moisés Ballesteros. Third-base coach Tony Beasley sent the speedster home. Jones joked that he was scared to see Griffin dive into the plate with the same hand he injured. But Griffin trusted his sliding mitt, never doubting his patched-up left ring finger and ability to slide in safely. “I'm not out there to play scared right now. It's the most important time of the year. I got activated because I'm 100% healthy,” Griffin said confidently. “So, I'm gonna lay it all on the line. It's kind of why in the beginning we hesitated at trying to play through it, because I can't play with something holding me back. I let loose when I'm out there.”
