Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Power surge continues Thursday
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Angels.
Cruz is surging lately, having now socked five homers in his last eight games. During this span, the dynamic outfielder is batting .344 (11-for-32) with five long balls, eight RBI, seven runs scored and three stolen bases. The lefty-hitting Cruz tends to struggle versus southpaws, as evidenced by his .570 OPS in 25 at-bats against left-handers this year, but he leads the majors with 11 stolen bases so far.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Not in Sunday's lineup
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Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Cruz is receiving Sunday off after a run of seven straight starts, during which he batted .269 (7-for-26) with three homers, three stolen bases, six RBI and six runs. Alexander Canario is getting a look in center field for the series finale versus Cleveland.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes 10th bag of 2025
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Cruz went 1-for-3 with one walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Guardians.
The Pirates' offense struggled Saturday, but Cruz managed to get on base twice and registered his 10th steal of the season in the third inning. He leads the majors in steals and ranks 12th and 14th in the National League in walks (13) and home runs (five), respectively.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Blasts grand slam vs. Washington
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Cruz went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals.
Cruz put the Pirates up for good in the sixth inning, when he took the first pitch he saw from Eduardo Salazar deep to right field for a 385-foot grand slam. It was the third home run of the season for Cruz and his first since April 2 against the Rays. The 26-year-old outfielder has begun the season slashing .222/.343/.426 with three home runs and nine RBI in 67 plate appearances, and he leads the majors with eight stolen bases.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Cruz (finger) is not in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Reds on Saturday.
Saturday marks the third straight absence for Cruz after he was hit on the finger by a pitch in Tuesday's contest against St. Louis. He could be available as a pinch runner, but Alexander Canario will draw the start in center field and bat sixth against Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Managing finger soreness
Rotowire
Manager Derek Shelton said after Wednesday's game against St. Louis that Cruz wasn't in the lineup due to finger soreness.
Cruz took a pitch off his finger in the seventh inning of Tuesday's contest, and he was pinch hit for when his spot in the batting order came around again in the ninth. Shelton noted that the 26-year-old was still available to pinch run or act as a defensive sub Wednesday, but the team wanted to make sure he didn't hit as a precaution. The Pirates' off day Thursday will give Cruz an extra 24 hours to recover, and he'll look to return to the starting nine in Friday's series opener in Cincinnati.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Resting for day game
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Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
The Pirates haven't indicated that Cruz is dealing with an injury, but fantasy managers may nonetheless want to keep an eye on his status heading into the team's weekend series with the Reds. Andrew McCutchen came on to pinch hit for the lefty-hitting Cruz in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 5-3 loss to St. Louis, though it's possible that had more to do with the Cardinals having a lefty reliever (JoJo Romero) on the bump. Cruz now finds himself out of the lineup for a day game after a night game, despite the fact that the right-handed Erick Fedde is starting for St. Louis. With a team off day on tap Thursday, Pittsburgh may have wanted to build in some extra rest for Cruz, who had started in 11 of its first 12 games.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Marlins.
The 26-year-old has gone 2-for-10 with six walks, a homer, four stolen bases, three runs and two RBI through the first three games of the season, and he'll receive a breather for Sunday's series finale in Miami. Jack Suwinski is receiving the start in center field in place of Cruz.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Steals two more bags in loss
Rotowire
Cruz went 0-for-2 with with four walks, a run scored and two steals in Saturday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Marlins.
Cruz has been off and running to open the season and now has four steals through three contests. The 26-year-old also walked a career-high four times Saturday, showcasing impressive plate discipline and bringing his season total to six free passes.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers, steals base in win
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk, a stolen base and an additional run scored in a 4-3 win over the Marlins on Friday.
Cruz sent a 115 mph missile to right field for a two-run homer in the fifth inning, which extended the Pirates' lead to 4-0. He stole his second base in as many games as well and has the potential to go 20-20 again this year after hitting 21 home runs and stealing 22 bases in 2024.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Coming back from illness
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Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday that Cruz is being brought along slowly in spring training because he came to camp with an illness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz is no longer ill, but since the ailment had prevented him from doing workouts for a while, the Pirates are taking it easy on him in the early weeks of camp. The center fielder has played in one of the team's first four Grapefruit League games, picking up a single and a stolen base Tuesday versus Atlanta. Cruz should be ready for a regular workload soon.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out again Wednesday
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) isn't in Pittsburgh's lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.
Cruz entered as a pinch hitter during Tuesday's loss to the Cards, but he'll remain absent from the starting nine Wednesday as he continues to battle left ankle soreness. Billy Cook start in center field and bat ninth.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Remains out of Pittsburgh lineup
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Cruz (ankle) remains out of the lineup for Tuesday's contest in St. Louis.
It's the second straight start Cruz has missed after he had to leave Sunday's tilt against the Royals with left ankle soreness. He is considered day-to-day. Michael Taylor will occupy center field as the Pirates try to even the series.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Dealing with ankle injury
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Cruz exited Sunday's 4-3 win over the Royals in the seventh inning due to a left ankle injury, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz is dealing with left ankle discomfort after slipping in the outfield according to manager Derek Shelton. Shelton said that the 26-year-old "was able to run" and that it later "stiffened up." Cruz finished his day 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored against Kansas City. The Pirates will start a four-game series in St. Louis on Monday, and it's unclear if Cruz will be ready to go for the opener.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Cruz is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Cruz will head to the bench after a run of 22 straight starts, during which he batted .313 with nine extra-base hits, nine steals, 10 RBI and nine runs. Michael Taylor is receiving a look in center field for the series finale versus Washington.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes 20th bag
Rotowire
Cruz went 0-for-4 with a stolen base Sunday against the Guardians.
Cruz reached base on a fielder's choice in the seventh inning and took advantage by swiping his 20th base of the season. He's gotten particularly aggressive on the basepaths in the last three weeks, as eight of his stolen bases have come in his last 17 games. Cruz needs two long balls to reach a 20-20 season in his first full slate of games in the majors.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers in three-hit game
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Cruz went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and an additional RBI in Friday's 9-5 loss to the Dodgers.
Cruz came up a triple shy of the cycle, logging his second three-hit game in a row since returning from an illness. The shortstop has gone 12-for-24 (.500) with three extra-base hits over six contests in August. Cruz is up to a .262/.315/.473 slash line with a career-high 18 homers, 59 RBI, 54 runs scored, 24 doubles and 11 stolen bases over 103 games this season.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting again Wednesday
Rotowire
Cruz (illness) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribunereports.
The 25-year-old was held out of Tuesday's starting nine due to an illness and will sit for a second straight game Wednesday. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will receive another look at shortstop while Jared Triolo starts at second base with Cruz under the weather.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Taking seat Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.
Cruz will sit Tuesday after a stretch of 17 straight starts, during which he had a .290/.333/.551 slash line with seven doubles, three homers, four steals, 15 RBI and 11 runs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will shift to shortstop while Jared Triolo starts at second base.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes two bags in win
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two stolen bases in Monday's win against the Cardinals.
Cruz logged his first multi-steal game of the season, nabbing second base in both the first and third innings off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. The shortstop hasn't been very active on the basepaths this season but he is now 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts. The 25-year-old has had a highly productive July, batting .321 with three home runs, 14 RBI, eight runs scored, and three steals across 14 games played.
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