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Oneil Cruz celebrates with Andrew McCutchen after homering in the third inning Sunday at PNC Park.

The 18,920 on hand to watch the Pirates fall, 6-5, to the Brewers this afternoon at PNC Park didn't have much time to react to the home run Oneil Cruz hit to lead off the third inning. 

There were even a few teammates who failed to get a glimpse of it. 

That's just how quickly it left the premises: 

"I actually didn't see it. It was hit so hard that I had no idea what was going on," Bailey Falter said. "I thought it was a foul ball because he was just standing there. Then I looked up at the board and realized he hit it like 130 into the Allegheny, so that was pretty impressive. I don't think I've ever seen a ball hit that hard in my life."

He probably hadn't.

The ball cleared the Clemente Wall and bounced into the Allegheny River with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. That's the hardest-hit ball -- regardless of outcome -- anyone has ever hit in the Statcast era, which began in 2015. Cruz broke his own record that had been set with a 122.4-mph single Aug. 24, 2022. The Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton previously held the mark for the hardest-hit home run: 121.7 mph on Aug. 9, 2018.

"I was actually looking at my at-bat from the inning before and I heard it," Adam Frazier said. "You might see something special any time he steps in the box.”

The homer was the 83rd to ever reach the Allegheny -- either on the fly or on a bounce -- in PNC Park history. A total of 51 different players have accomplished the feat, including Cruz, who has done it on six occasions.

While Cruz was limited to just the home run today, the blast capped an incredibly productive four-game series of three home runs, a double, a triple, two walks, five RBIs and five runs scored. He's the fifth Pittsburgh player ever to post those stats or better in a series of any length, per the Elias Sports Bureau: 

• Cruz: May 22-25, 2025 (four games, vs. Milwaukee)

• Brian Giles: May 21-23, 2002 (four games, at Chicago-NL)

• Turner Ward: Sept. 19-22, 1997 (four games, vs. St. Louis)

• Ralph Kiner: June 23-25, 1950 (three games, at Brooklyn) 

• Adam Comorosky: July 16-19, 1930 (five games, at Boston)

"I can’t say enough about him, how he played and how he’s been playing, especially this series with the home runs, the triple," Don Kelly said. "He’s doing great things.”

Cruz has certainly experienced his share of ups and downs throughout his short major-league career. He's proven to be a valuable offensive asset with an arm and athletic ability to aid his defensive efforts, and speed that makes him a threat the moment he steps foot on the base paths. But he's also endured tough stretches, both at the plate and in the field. On this day, he also struck out three times and misfired on this run-allowing error:

That doesn't diminish that he's capable of doing exceptional things more often than not. 

"I used to be surprised," Jared Triolo told me. "But now it's just Oneil doing Oneil things."