On Oneil Cruz’s first swing of the second half, he smoked Aaron Nola’s changeup off the base of the center field wall at an exit velocity of 120.5 mph for an RBI double that saw him slide effortlessly into second base. That was a sign that Cruz could be a catalyst for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second half, which would be a welcome change in their hopes of contending for a spot in the postseason.
It was the first of three hits and three RBIs for Cruz in Friday’s 8-7 walk-off win at PNC Park. The 25-year-old shortstop followed it with another three-RBI performance Saturday, going 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run home run as the Pirates scored back-to-back wins over a Philadelphia Phillies team with the best record in baseball. “This kid likes the lights.
I think we’ve seen that the last two nights. He’s stepped his game up a little bit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after Saturday’s 4-1 win. “And he’s healthy now, which before the break he wasn’t.
It’s been very much needed – and it’s fun to watch. ..
. He’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing in the second half.” A 120.
5 MPH double off the bat of Oneil Cruz! That ball was SMOKED ???? pic.twitter.com/RWg2o2wsgk — MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2024 Just how big remains to be seen, as Cruz went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and two errors in Sunday’s 6-0 loss.
But Cruz is in the midst of a red-hot July, where he is batting .320/.352/.
600 with five doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs through 13 games. And the All-Star break allowed his surgically repaired left ankle some time to heal after he tweaked it multiple times over the past month. “Definitely those four days helped a lot because I’m recovering from an ankle injury and then my hamstrings were kind of tight later on,” Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales.
“Definitely those four days helped put me in a really good spot.” Perhaps the best sign is that Cruz, who is hitting .161 (14 of 87) against lefties this season, came through against a pair of All-Star left-handed pitchers on Saturday.
He hit an RBI double to right field off starter Cristopher Sanchez in the sixth inning and the two-run homer to left-center off reliever Matt Strahm in the eighth. That Cruz has improved both his hitting against left-handers and his defense at shortstop are no coincidence. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington revealed Sunday on his weekly radio show that the club gave Cruz, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury on an awkward slide into home plate in April 2023, a grace period over the first two months of the season to adjust to playing regularly again before having an “intervention” to address those areas.
Cruz, who has 12 errors (seven fielding) this season, has spent the past seven weeks working with Pirates coaches on becoming more consistent on defense. To prepare for lefties, Cruz has been hitting off the Trajekt pitching robot, which not only projects the image of the pitcher he’s facing but can replicate the pitch selection, arm slot and release point. “We’ve seen real progress in both of those areas over time and especially recently,” Cherington said on 93.
7 The Fan. “Credit to him for understanding that you’re back playing the games now and you’re really important. He wants to be great.
He wants to help us win games. He knew he had to do some things differently. .
.. It doesn’t just happen.
He’s worked to put himself in that position.” For all of his tantalizing talent, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Cruz has yet to reach his potential. He continues to set Statcast records for exit velocity, as he followed the 120.
5-mph double Friday with another clocked at 113.5 mph. That marked the sixth time a Pirates hitter has had multiple hits recorded at exit velocities of 113 mph or faster.
Cruz owns five of them, including four this season. 112 MPH. My oh my, Oneil Cruz.
pic.twitter.com/9zepFOfMA7 — MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2024 “As crazy as it is, him hitting the ball as hard as he does, he does it so consistently that we have the luxury of being able to see it every day,” Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said.
“I get to see him do it all the time, so I’m used to it. At the same time, some balls he’ll hit, it’s pretty crazy. You’re like, ‘Man, he’s not human.
’” It also served as the second time in Cruz’s career that he had multiple doubles in a game, with the other coming on May 21 in a 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants. After recording seven multi-hit games in June, Cruz already has six this month, including three on Friday. “Offensively, he’s locked in,” Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales said.
“He’s swinging at good pitches. He’s hitting the ball hard – we know he can do that – and he’s doing it off left-handed pitching, too. He’s the man.
Having an impact bat like that in the lineup is crucial.” Oneil Cruz has been playing some DEFENSE lately pic.twitter.
com/BBAyjuB6qv — Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) July 21, 2024 Gonzales also has been impressed by his double-play partner’s fielding at shortstop, where Cruz has shown range and a rocket for an arm. But he also made a critical error in the Phillies’ three-run seventh inning Sunday, when he dropped the throw from Gonzales at second base on a would-be double-play ball and had another in the ninth. The Pirates know that Cruz will have days like that, but they are counting on him to provide more performances like he did this weekend if they want to contend for the NL Central title or a wild-card spot.
What they hope for is that Cruz doesn’t try to do too much. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he’s capable of doing,” Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen said. “When he’s playing great baseball – it’s not a ‘me’ sport; you’ve got to play as a team – but when he’s doing what he’s doing, it’s good for us.
It’s that extra bat in the lineup that changes things for the team. Hopefully, he can stay within himself and stay where he’s at and not feel like he has to do more.”.
