Oneil Cruz may not be able to save the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ season, but he at least can provide the fans in Pittsburgh with some memorable and exciting moments as the team continues their rebuild.
On Monday, Cruz showed off a new aspect of his game, that being his power.
Cruz came to the plate with two outs in the top of the fifth inning with the Bucs leading the Washington Nationals, 1-0.
Cruz put a good swing on a pitch from Nats starter Erick Fedde and hit it out of Nationals Park, extending Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0.
MLB tweeted a video of Cruz hitting his first home run of the season.
Oneil Cruz with his 1st homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/tYvlc0gq11
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2022
Cruz Goes Yard
Again, Cruz probably won’t be able to save the Pirates’ season, but he can at least come through in the clutch and deliver some big moments for the fans.
He showed off a new aspect of his game with his first home run of the 2022 season and second of his young career.
Unfortunately for Cruz and his team, that wouldn’t be enough to win the game as the Nationals fought back late, scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth and two in the bottom of the eighth, with Maikel Franco providing the big blow with his go-ahead home run.
Washington won, but at least Cruz had a chance to go deep and give Pirates fans another treat as they watched their young star continue to produce and show what he’s made of.
The ball was 109 mph off the bat.
His future looks incredibly bright, and he could be a key piece for the Pirates going forward as they continue their rebuild and try and create the next great team in Pittsburgh.
NEXT: Oneil Cruz Continues His Historic Run Thursday