Fastball

Oneil Cruz His Mammoth Home Run to Make Pirates History

Pittsburgh Pirates' slugger Oneil Cruz hit a ridiculous home run on Thursday as the Pirates lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the blast, he made some impressive team history as well.

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz hits a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at PNC Park on June 6.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz hits a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at PNC Park on June 6. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 11-7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night despite the history-making efforts of shortstop Oneil Cruz.

The powerful slugger went 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and three RBI. He hit his eighth home run of the season in the defeat. In addition to making the final score more respectable, Cruz's blast made some team history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

ONEIL CRUZ

117.7 MPH

THAT’S THE PIRATES’ HARDEST-HIT HR UNDER STATCAST (2015)

Perhaps the home run will help snap Cruz out of the funk he's been in as well. He's hitting just .177 over the last 15 games and .207 over the last seven. For the year, he's hitting .244 with the eight homers, 23 RBI and five stolen bases.

Though the numbers are soft right now, it's good to see Cruz back on the field in general. After breaking his ankle last April, he missed nearly the entire season.

Debuting back in 2021, Cruz has some of the best pure athleticism in all of baseball. He broke out in 2022, hitting 17 homers in just 87 games.

After the loss, the Pirates are 29-33 and in last place in the National League Central. However, the division is so jumbled that Pittsburgh is still just 7.0 games out of first.

The Pirates will be back in action on Friday night when they take on the Minnesota Twins. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET as Joe Ryan (MIN) goes up against Mitch Keller.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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