By STEPHEN THOMPSON

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

(TNS) —Isaac Mattson’s life changed on Feb. 25, when he and his wife, Devin, welcomed their first child, Theodore, to the world. Those first few days of their son’s life were precious for the Mattsons, who knew the start of Isaac’s season was coming soon.

It’s been almost three months since Theodore Mattson’s birth, and his infancy has coincided with a strong start to the 2025 season for his father, who was called up from Triple-A for his second stint with the Pirates on Tuesday.

‘The other day, I thought that’s the hardest I’ve thrown in a couple of years,’ Mattson said. ‘All the guys were like, ‘Man, it’s coming in strong.’ A lot of snuggles with the little guy. Got to credit him for a little bit of that.’

Fatherhood and years of experience mean Mattson’s eyes aren’t quite as wide now as they had been years ago. He has a little bit more to play for this season, and his family — the ultimate motivation — follows him from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh as he tries to turn an encouraging opening into something bigger.

Arriving at PNC Park for the start of a seven-game homestand, with plenty of friends and family in the stands, Mattson knows the ballpark’s entrances and tunnels more intimately and he’s — above all else — experienced enough to finally feel comfortable.

‘It’s an added level of comfort,’ he said. ‘Going to school here, obviously we know the city really well. But even just something as simple as finding where the clubhouse is — this time around, it’s been nice to kind of know my bearings and be able to show up and just focus on the job.’

Mattson committed to Pitt as a high school senior in part because of the proximity to his hometown of Harborcreek, Pa., just outside of Erie. And by his junior season in 2017, he had become a lockdown reliever for the Panthers, leading the team with a 2.87 ERA.

‘[Pitt] was kind of the perfect mix of opportunity, as well as comfort and being able to be close to family,’ Mattson said.

But it was an All-Star season in the Cape Cod Baseball League during the summer prior that confirmed what Mattson had started to feel — it was time to take his shot at professional baseball. After making leaps from college to the minor leagues and up to the majors, Mattson knows what it feels like to be ready.

‘I just felt like at that point in my college career, similar to my professional career at this point, I know who I am and what I do well,’ he said. ‘And being able to do that more consistently and at a high level, that was kind of the step forward that I felt like I took that summer.’

Mattson’s rise to the majors wasn’t immediate, but it was steady. By the time he reached 26 years old, he had showcased enough electric, swingand- miss stuff to land a major league opportunity with the Baltimore Orioles in 2021. But upon making it to the game’s highest level, he lost his control, was striking out half as many batters, and Baltimore opted to release him.

What followed was a period of profound sadness. Mattson’s mother, Debra, died, and his game suffered, as well. He was playing baseball as a way to escape that pain, and it took years before he rediscovered baseball as a passion.

The 29-year-old relief pitcher who took the mound at PNC Park on Thursday afternoon for his first major league appearance of 2025 is a vastly different man than the one who signed with the Washington Wild Things in 2021 hoping to revive a career that hadn’t quite progressed as planned.

Mattson has walked an unglamorous path back to the major leagues and returned to the game’s highest level with a bright smile and confidence.

His promotion came as reliever Colin Holderman was placed on the 15-day injured list with a thumb injury. The opportunity that move created couldn’t have come at a better moment.

‘We haven’t seen him in a game yet,’ Pirates manager Don Kelly said before Thursday’s game against the Brewers. ‘But just another example of a guy that went down and really continued to get better and continued to dominate.’

The past two months have been statistically the best start of Mattson’s career. In 16 appearances for Triple-A Indianapolis this season, he has posted a 2.50 ERA and four saves and is striking out 11 batters per nine innings — figures that rival even the best from his first three seasons out of college.

Mattson has simplified his arsenal by abandoning the cutter in favor of a three-pitch mix of fastballs, sliders and changeups. He’s had the humility to adapt and is generating more power as a result. (Mattson’s fastball velocity is averaging a career-best 94 mph during his short bigleague stints.)

“When we played the Yankees, he really came back, dominated and has carried that over from spring training into the season,” Kelly said. “Really good extension, good life to his fastball — he’s been pitching really well down there, so looking forward to having him up here.”

Mattson was simply grateful to be back when he climbed through the Pirates system last year. But each time he returns to the majors after a stint in the lower levels, conquering another hurdle on his long journey to baseball’s pinnacle, he expects to take another step toward a permanent job. “Joe Torre, during his Hall of Fame speech, he kind of talked about the progress that players make every time they get called up and play in the big leagues,” Mattson said. “At this point, it’s just continuing to help the team win.

“No matter where I’m at this year, at this point in my career, I’m just trying to help whatever team I’m playing for win baseball games … and just be a solid guy in the clubhouse.”