Paul Skenes is rightfully going to steal all of the headlines from Tuesday night's 3-1 win over the Rockies at PNC Park. But, while the Pirates' ace continues to make history, the club's polarizing centerfielder had a big impact in the win.
"Honestly, I thought that was the best game Oneil Cruz has played," Don Kelly said after the game. "When you talk about the offensive approach, the doubles, the aggressiveness at the plate, the plays, the jumps he got in the outfield ... I thought it was the most complete game Oneil Cruz has played."
Cruz did damage with the bat as he recorded three hits, two of them being doubles. He led off the game with a 112.5-mph laser that traveled 393 feet to center field for his first double, then laced a 111.1-mph line drive to left-center field for his second double. He scored after both hits.
On top of that, Cruz made a couple of catches in center field that, considering how bad he looked on opening day in New York, seemed impossible. The first was on a sinking line drive hit by Mickey Moniak, which had a .510 expected batting average, but Cruz had an excellent jump forward on it and used his speed to track it down. The second catch ended the seventh inning. He was shaded very far to the left against TJ Rumfield, who smashed a liner to right-center, but Cruz ran it down and made the catch, stranding a runner in scoring position.
The one catch Cruz wanted to make more than any of them didn't happen, when Moniak hit a sinking, soft liner to left-center, just out of reach of a diving Cruz. That hit broke up Skenes' no-hit bid after 6 1/3 innings.
"I ran so hard, I'll tell you right now," Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales, "I would not run after my kids like that."
THE ASYLUM
Cruz's 'best game' as a Pirate?
Paul Skenes is rightfully going to steal all of the headlines from Tuesday night's 3-1 win over the Rockies at PNC Park. But, while the Pirates' ace continues to make history, the club's polarizing centerfielder had a big impact in the win.
"Honestly, I thought that was the best game Oneil Cruz has played," Don Kelly said after the game. "When you talk about the offensive approach, the doubles, the aggressiveness at the plate, the plays, the jumps he got in the outfield ... I thought it was the most complete game Oneil Cruz has played."
Cruz did damage with the bat as he recorded three hits, two of them being doubles. He led off the game with a 112.5-mph laser that traveled 393 feet to center field for his first double, then laced a 111.1-mph line drive to left-center field for his second double. He scored after both hits.
On top of that, Cruz made a couple of catches in center field that, considering how bad he looked on opening day in New York, seemed impossible. The first was on a sinking line drive hit by Mickey Moniak, which had a .510 expected batting average, but Cruz had an excellent jump forward on it and used his speed to track it down. The second catch ended the seventh inning. He was shaded very far to the left against TJ Rumfield, who smashed a liner to right-center, but Cruz ran it down and made the catch, stranding a runner in scoring position.
The one catch Cruz wanted to make more than any of them didn't happen, when Moniak hit a sinking, soft liner to left-center, just out of reach of a diving Cruz. That hit broke up Skenes' no-hit bid after 6 1/3 innings.
"I ran so hard, I'll tell you right now," Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales, "I would not run after my kids like that."
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