Cruz went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Monday against the Brewers.
Cruz hit eighth in the order for the third straight game against a right-handed pitcher as the Pirates seek to get him on track at the plate. He showed some reasons for optimism with his three-hit performance, highlighted by a two-RBI single in the sixth inning that gave the team some insurance runs. Most importantly, Cruz struck out only once after punching out multiple times in seven of his previous 10 games.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Slips down order
Rotowire
Cruz went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base Saturday against the Red Sox.
Cruz also struck out twice, and he has now punched out multiple times in eight of his last 10 starts. He's hit .095 in that span, though he did manage to chip his second stolen base of the season Saturday. As a result of his struggles, Cruz dropped to eighth in the lineup after exclusively batting as the team's leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching through the first 11 matchups of the campaign.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Inserted into lineup
Rotowire
Cruz, who was originally slated for a day off, is now in the Pirates' lineup and hitting seventh versus the Mets on Tuesday.
Cruz was initially not in the lineup Tuesday with southpaw Jose Quintana on the mound for the Mets, but the change in plans is a result of Ke'Bryan Hayes's late scratch for a yet-to-be-revealed reason.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Getting day off Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.
Southpaw Jose Quintana is toeing the rubber for the Mets, so Pirates manager Derek Shelton felt this was a good time to give the left-handed hitting Cruz a breather. The fact that Cruz is 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts over the last two games was probably also a factor. Alika Williams will fill in at shortstop Tuesday.
Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting out against right-hander
Rotowire
Cruz is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
It's Cruz's second day off of the season and his first versus a right-hander. He had batted leadoff in each of the previous six contest against righties. Jared Triolo will be at the top of the order Tuesday, while Alika Williams gets a start at shortstop.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Delivers walk-off win
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Cruz went 2-for-6 with an RBI and a stolen base Saturday against Baltimore.
Cruz's most notable contribution came in extra innings when he delivered a walk-off single. He also led off the third inning with a base knock and proceeded to swipe his first base of the campaign. Though Cruz has also chipped in two home runs early on this season, he's striking out at a 35 percent clip. That's inflated due to the number of lefties Pittsburgh has encountered to this point, but Cruz will still need to make more consistent contact to maintain the pace of his current production.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Belts second homer
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Orioles.
The 25-year-old shortstop took Grayson Rodriguez deep in the fifth inning to get the Pirates on the board. Cruz has collected multiple hits in four of his first eight games in 2024, batting .344 (11-for-32) with two homers, three RBI and seven runs. He's still looking for his first stolen base however, after swiping 13 bags in his first 98 career big-league games.
Cruz will start at shortstop and bat leadoff in Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
The Pirates faced five straight southpaws to begin the season, and the left-handed-hitting Cruz hit sixth twice, seventh twice and had one day off in those contests. With right-hander Trevor Williams taking the ball Wednesday, Cruz will be elevated to the top of the batting order.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Takes seat Sunday
Rotowire
Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz started the first three games of the season and will receive Sunday off after going 5-for-14 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and six strikeouts. Alika Williams will step in at shortstop and bat eighth in the series finale at Miami.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Starts season with homer
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Cruz went 1-for-5, blasting a solo homer while striking out three times during Thursday's Opening Day victory over Miami.
Cruz struggled in his first three at-bats but distributed a 1-0 offering from Sixto Sanchez the opposite way over the left-center field wall to tie the game 5-5 in the eighth inning. The dynamic shortstop played in only nine games last year prior to breaking his ankle, but his Opening Day homer followed up on a strong spring during which he hit seven long balls.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Batting sixth against left-hander
Rotowire
Cruz is starting at shortstop and batting sixth in Thursday's opener in Miami.
Cruz was a fixture atop the Pirates' batting order this spring when he walloped seven Grapefruit League home runs. However, with left-hander Jesus Luzardo on the bump for the Marlins, he'll slide down to the six spot for Opening Day while Connor Joe bats leadoff. Cruz should be the regular leadoff man against right-handers.
