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Cruz went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI on Friday against the Twins.
Cruz drove in a run in the first inning and then blasted a solo home run in the third frame. He has 12 homers on the season, and two in his last six starts. Cruz has hit .333 with four RBI and three runs scored in that span, continuing his breakout campaign.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Reaches four times, steals base
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-3 with three singles, an RBI, a hit-by-pitch, one stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 12-1 win over the Cubs.
Cruz singled, stole his 17th base of the season and scored in the bottom of the first inning. It was just the third time this month that Cruz didn't record a strikeout after he entered play Tuesday leading the majors with 84 of them, six more than Kyle Schwarber. When Cruz does hit the ball, it typically results in something good happening, as he's in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity (96.1 mph), 95th percentile in barrel rate (16.9 percent), 100th percentile in hard-hit rate (61.4 percent) and 99th percentile in bat speed (78.5 mph). On the season, Cruz is slashing .265/.329/.461 with 11 homers, 35 RBI, 38 runs scored, 17 steals and an 18:84 BB:K across 240 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Ends homer drought
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Blue Jays.
Cruz entered Sunday's game having hit only .179 across his last 10 games, while having gone homerless in his last 11 contests. He ended the latter drought with a solo home run to lead off the second inning, his 11th long ball of the year. Cruz was also moved out of the leadoff spot against a right-handed pitcher for only the third time this season, instead hitting fifth.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Three-hit night in win Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Rockies.
Cruz doubled and scored in both the first and fifth innings, accounting for most of the offense for Pittsburgh in this low-scoring affair. It marked Cruz's second three-hit game in the last three contests, and he's now on a four-game hitting streak, having gone 8-for-18 during that span. On the year, the center fielder is slashing .266/.330/.491 with 10 home runs, 29 RBI, 33 runs scored, 15 stolen bases and a 14:62 BB:K across 185 plate appearances. Cruz has one of the most prolific batted-ball profiles in the sport, as he's in the 95th percentile or better in average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit rate and bat speed.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homer, steal in extra-innings loss
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-5 with a solo home run, a walk, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Sunday's 7-6 extra-innings loss to the Giants.
Cruz went 5-for-14 with two walks during this three-game series in San Francisco. The homer was his first since April 28, ending his season-worst 10-game stretch without a long ball. The outfielder is batting .255 with a .793 OPS, 10 homers, 15 steals, 29 RBI and 31 runs scored over 39 contests this season, providing well-rounded production in the counting stats.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Three hits, steal in win
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-6 with a stolen base and three runs scored in Saturday's 13-3 win over the Giants.
Cruz was in a bit of a slump prior to Saturday, going 1-for-14 with two walks and four strikeouts over his previous four games. He broke out with a strong game atop the order, which included his third steal in the last four games. Cruz is now hitting .256 with a .783 OPS, nine home runs, 28 RBI, 29 runs scored, 14 steals and six doubles across 38 contests. He's made some gains in power without sacrificing speed on the basepaths, but Cruz's 33.7 percent strikeout rate remains alarmingly high, especially for a leadoff hitter.
Cruz went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI on Saturday against the Reds.
Nearly every hitter in the Pirates' lineup delivered counting stats in a 17-7 win, and Cruz contributed to significant rallies in the first and fourth innings. He's had a mediocre homestand across six games, going 6-for-24 with three RBI and six runs scored. Cruz has had a very impressive start to the season with nine home runs and 27 RBI already, though his 35.8 percent strikeout rate remains a significant red flag in his skills profile.
Cruz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run during the Pirates' 11-7 loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Cruz missed Monday's series opener due to an illness but was back in the lineup for Tuesday's contest, when he put the Pirates on the board with a solo homer off Kyle Leahy in the sixth inning. Cruz is in the midst of a breakout season and sits in the top five in the National League in home runs (nine), RBI (25) and stolen bases (10), though his 45 strikeouts are second-most in the NL behind James Wood (46).
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Back in action Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz (illness) is starting in center field and batting leadoff Tuesday against the Cardinals.
The 27-year-old was scratched from the lineup for Monday's series opener due to an illness but is good to go for Tuesday's contest. Cruz has gone 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his past two games but overall has been productive during the first month of the campaign with eight home runs, 10 steals, 24 RBI, 19 runs and an .838 OPS in 27 games.
Cruz was scratched from the Pirates' starting lineup against the Cardinals on Monday due to an illness.
Cruz evidently fell ill prior to Monday's game, which prompted the Pirates to replace him with Jake Mangum in center field and shift Spencer Horwitz to the leadoff spot in the batting order. Cruz will continue to receive treatment in the hopes of being cleared to return for Tuesday's contest against St. Louis.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Scratched from Monday's lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (undisclosed) has been scratched from Monday's lineup against the Cardinals.
It's unclear why Cruz was removed, but he has been replaced by Jake Mangum in center field. The Pirates should have an update on Cruz's status during or shortly after Monday's contest.
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