Cruz again shows he can do it all ... and bounce back
One day after a horrid start to his 2025 season, Oneil Cruz hit one heck of a reset button:
Just a thing of beauty.
With one out and a runner on first base in the fifth inning of the Pirates' eventual 4-3 win over the Marlins tonight here at loanDepot Park, Cruz unloaded on an 0-1 slider that Connor Gillispie threw low in the zone. Some hitters may have laid off and let it go by, but not Cruz. With an exit velocity of 115 mph he sent it down the right-field line as it sneaked just inside the foul pole.
Endy Rodriguez said it best: "Oh that guy's nasty. He's just like bold and nasty. He does a lot of good things."
He did. He impacted the game in every way. He tracked down a few fly balls in center field. He walked once. He had two hits. He scored two runs, setting up the Pirates' first run by stealing second after a leadoff walk in the fourth, taking third on an overthrow, then trotting home on Andrew McCutchen's double:
"It's a lot of ups and downs in this game," Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales after the game. "It's like a roller coaster. It's full of emotions. You go up, you go down. It's always good to have games like today, put together games like today as a team, and that's what we did to win."
Throughout his major-league career, Cruz has shown the potential to be a superstar. With his power, speed, arm strength and overall athleticism, the tools are in place. If the Pirates are going to contend this season, he'll be a big part of it.
But, what comes with all of that power are mistakes like the one that was made Thursday evening on his throw to home plate. Cruz understood that it should have gone to the cut-off man to hold the tying-run at first and he said as much afterward. Both his coaches and teammates understood that he did as well.
How he responded tonight demonstrated that.
"He played well. He made a mistake yesterday. He's going to make mistakes. That stuff is going to happen," Derek Shelton said on this night. "To bounce back, have good at-bats, hit the homer -- even the last at-bat against the lefty was a really good swing -- but good at-bats by Oneil."
There was no blame floating around the Pirates' clubhouse this afternoon either. Cruz's teammates rallied around him, both after Thursday's loss and during the lead up to tonight's game. He spent a lot of time with Rodriguez, had a chat with Tommy Pham and got support from the rest of his teammates, as well. They clearly understand how important he is to this team and made sure to let him know.
"I don’t think there was one person in this clubhouse who doesn’t think he can bring it every single night," Mitch Keller said of Cruz after working six innings of five-hit ball. "That was kind of the message that we as players talked to him about, ‘Hey, we need you, and you’re a good player.’ Everyone sees what kind of player he is. He had a stolen base, then the throw into the outfield and he gets to third and then he scores. I mean, that’s just huge baseball right there. Then he comes up clutch with the big two-run homer. That’s exciting to see because that’s the type of player that he can be every single night."
Through 247 major-league games, Cruz has been a .250 hitter with 41 home runs and 139 RBIs. He's coming off a 2024 season and, of course, his ankle injury, in which he hit 21 home runs with 76 RBIs and 22 steals. But it's about putting it all together consistently.
I asked Shelton, what type of impact Cruz can have if he puts it all together like he did tonight: "Tremendous impact. It's a game-changer."
THE ASYLUM
Cruz again shows he can do it all ... and bounce back
One day after a horrid start to his 2025 season, Oneil Cruz hit one heck of a reset button:
Just a thing of beauty.
With one out and a runner on first base in the fifth inning of the Pirates' eventual 4-3 win over the Marlins tonight here at loanDepot Park, Cruz unloaded on an 0-1 slider that Connor Gillispie threw low in the zone. Some hitters may have laid off and let it go by, but not Cruz. With an exit velocity of 115 mph he sent it down the right-field line as it sneaked just inside the foul pole.
Endy Rodriguez said it best: "Oh that guy's nasty. He's just like bold and nasty. He does a lot of good things."
He did. He impacted the game in every way. He tracked down a few fly balls in center field. He walked once. He had two hits. He scored two runs, setting up the Pirates' first run by stealing second after a leadoff walk in the fourth, taking third on an overthrow, then trotting home on Andrew McCutchen's double:
"It's a lot of ups and downs in this game," Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales after the game. "It's like a roller coaster. It's full of emotions. You go up, you go down. It's always good to have games like today, put together games like today as a team, and that's what we did to win."
Throughout his major-league career, Cruz has shown the potential to be a superstar. With his power, speed, arm strength and overall athleticism, the tools are in place. If the Pirates are going to contend this season, he'll be a big part of it.
But, what comes with all of that power are mistakes like the one that was made Thursday evening on his throw to home plate. Cruz understood that it should have gone to the cut-off man to hold the tying-run at first and he said as much afterward. Both his coaches and teammates understood that he did as well.
How he responded tonight demonstrated that.
"He played well. He made a mistake yesterday. He's going to make mistakes. That stuff is going to happen," Derek Shelton said on this night. "To bounce back, have good at-bats, hit the homer -- even the last at-bat against the lefty was a really good swing -- but good at-bats by Oneil."
There was no blame floating around the Pirates' clubhouse this afternoon either. Cruz's teammates rallied around him, both after Thursday's loss and during the lead up to tonight's game. He spent a lot of time with Rodriguez, had a chat with Tommy Pham and got support from the rest of his teammates, as well. They clearly understand how important he is to this team and made sure to let him know.
"I don’t think there was one person in this clubhouse who doesn’t think he can bring it every single night," Mitch Keller said of Cruz after working six innings of five-hit ball. "That was kind of the message that we as players talked to him about, ‘Hey, we need you, and you’re a good player.’ Everyone sees what kind of player he is. He had a stolen base, then the throw into the outfield and he gets to third and then he scores. I mean, that’s just huge baseball right there. Then he comes up clutch with the big two-run homer. That’s exciting to see because that’s the type of player that he can be every single night."
Through 247 major-league games, Cruz has been a .250 hitter with 41 home runs and 139 RBIs. He's coming off a 2024 season and, of course, his ankle injury, in which he hit 21 home runs with 76 RBIs and 22 steals. But it's about putting it all together consistently.
I asked Shelton, what type of impact Cruz can have if he puts it all together like he did tonight: "Tremendous impact. It's a game-changer."
Game highlights:
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