Oneil Cruz didn't waste much time welcoming his former teammate, Luis Ortiz, back to PNC Park tonight:
Ortiz, who was traded to the Guardians in a deal that brought Spencer Horwitz to Pittsburgh, missed the outside edge of the plate with a first-pitch fastball and Cruz managed to send it out for his third home run in as many games.
He hit a grand slam against the Nationals on Wednesday and has now led off the first inning with a homer on back-to-back nights. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's only the second major-league player since at least 1900 to hit a grand slam and two leadoff home runs in a three-game span. The other was Colorado's CharlieBlackmon in 2016. Blackmon hit a leadoff home run on May 30 of that season, then followed that up with a leadoff home run and grand slam on May 31.
His latest home run also allowed him to make a bit more history, as he's now up to 11 walks, nine stolen bases and four home runs over 17 games this season. Cruz is the only MLB player in the modern era to reach all three marks through his first 17 games of a season, per Stats Perform.
"Offensively, we took a step forward tonight," said Derek Shelton, whose team generated seven runs on 11 hits tonight. "But he's kind of ignited us at the top."
• In addition to Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Enmanuel Valdez also added homers in the losing effort. Reynolds' homer was part of a three-hit effort that included an RBI single in the ninth inning. Valdez had two hits and drove in three runs -- two on his home run and another on an RBI double in the ninth.
"Really good swings throughout. He's had really good swings the last four or five days as he's gotten more consistent playing time," Shelton said of Valdez. "I think one of the things we knew when we acquired is he could hit. He can hit the fastball and I think he's showing that to us."
• The Pirates trailed 10-2 after a five-run seventh inning by the Guardians before scoring five unanswered runs in the final three innings. They made things interesting, but ultimately fell short.
"They continued to battle. They continued to grind. It was a (10-2) game and we got the closer in the game. We had the tying run at the plate, so they continued to fight," Shelton said. "They continued to battle and I think that's a really encouraging sign."
• Kyle Nicolas struggled mightily in his third appearance since being recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis last week. He was tasked with starting the seventh inning and lasted just 1/3 of an inning, allowing five runs on three hits and two walks. Two of the hits were back-to-back two-run doubles hit by Jhonkensy Noel and Gabriel Arias.
"It just looked like he was in the middle of the plate. When you're in the middle of the plate, major-league teams take advantage, and that happened tonight," Shelton said.
• It was quite an emotional return to Pittsburgh for Ortiz, who overcame a rough first few innings to ultimately allow just two earned runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over five innings against his former team.
"A lot of emotions. I think a bunch of time has passed since the trade and onto the season. I lot of familiar faces, guys that I know that I came up with," Ortiz said via interpreter Agustin Rivero. "But still, I'm on the mound, my job is to get outs and attack, and that's what I tried to do today."
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
1:01 am - 04.19.2025North ShoreExtra Bases: Cruz's power surge
Oneil Cruz didn't waste much time welcoming his former teammate, Luis Ortiz, back to PNC Park tonight:
Ortiz, who was traded to the Guardians in a deal that brought Spencer Horwitz to Pittsburgh, missed the outside edge of the plate with a first-pitch fastball and Cruz managed to send it out for his third home run in as many games.
He hit a grand slam against the Nationals on Wednesday and has now led off the first inning with a homer on back-to-back nights. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's only the second major-league player since at least 1900 to hit a grand slam and two leadoff home runs in a three-game span. The other was Colorado's Charlie Blackmon in 2016. Blackmon hit a leadoff home run on May 30 of that season, then followed that up with a leadoff home run and grand slam on May 31.
His latest home run also allowed him to make a bit more history, as he's now up to 11 walks, nine stolen bases and four home runs over 17 games this season. Cruz is the only MLB player in the modern era to reach all three marks through his first 17 games of a season, per Stats Perform.
"Offensively, we took a step forward tonight," said Derek Shelton, whose team generated seven runs on 11 hits tonight. "But he's kind of ignited us at the top."
• In addition to Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Enmanuel Valdez also added homers in the losing effort. Reynolds' homer was part of a three-hit effort that included an RBI single in the ninth inning. Valdez had two hits and drove in three runs -- two on his home run and another on an RBI double in the ninth.
"Really good swings throughout. He's had really good swings the last four or five days as he's gotten more consistent playing time," Shelton said of Valdez. "I think one of the things we knew when we acquired is he could hit. He can hit the fastball and I think he's showing that to us."
• The Pirates trailed 10-2 after a five-run seventh inning by the Guardians before scoring five unanswered runs in the final three innings. They made things interesting, but ultimately fell short.
"They continued to battle. They continued to grind. It was a (10-2) game and we got the closer in the game. We had the tying run at the plate, so they continued to fight," Shelton said. "They continued to battle and I think that's a really encouraging sign."
• Kyle Nicolas struggled mightily in his third appearance since being recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis last week. He was tasked with starting the seventh inning and lasted just 1/3 of an inning, allowing five runs on three hits and two walks. Two of the hits were back-to-back two-run doubles hit by Jhonkensy Noel and Gabriel Arias.
"It just looked like he was in the middle of the plate. When you're in the middle of the plate, major-league teams take advantage, and that happened tonight," Shelton said.
• It was quite an emotional return to Pittsburgh for Ortiz, who overcame a rough first few innings to ultimately allow just two earned runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over five innings against his former team.
"A lot of emotions. I think a bunch of time has passed since the trade and onto the season. I lot of familiar faces, guys that I know that I came up with," Ortiz said via interpreter Agustin Rivero. "But still, I'm on the mound, my job is to get outs and attack, and that's what I tried to do today."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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