WATCH: Pittsburgh Pirates Star Breaks Ankle, Likely Out For Season?

The Pittsburgh Pirates, one of baseball's biggest surprises through the first week of the season, suffered a brutal loss on Sunday as young star Oneil Cruz fractured his ankle sliding into home plate against the Chicago White Sox. The play ignited a benches-clearing incident involving Pirates leader Carlos Santana and White Sox catcher Seby Zavala.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 6-3 and currently one of the most pleasant surprises in all of baseball. But that bubble was burst on Sunday afternoon when prized young player Oneil Cruz fractured his ankle on an awkward play at home plate against the Chicago White Sox. 

The Pirates were leading the White Sox, 1-0, in the bottom of the sixth inning. Runners were at first and third with one out and Ke'Bryan Hayes was at the plate. Hayes hit a groundball to third base, White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada charged the ball and threw it home. Cruz attempted to slide very late into home plate and ended up sliding very awkwardly into the body of Sox catcher Seby Zavala. 

You can watch the highlight of the play here. Nothing is gruesome in this video.

The benches cleared in Pittsburgh following a play at the plate involving Oneil Cruz.

(via @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/64JCBPmq81

— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2023

Cruz was in clear pain as the benches-clearing fracas happened around him and it was announced after the game that Cruz suffered a fractured left ankle.

No official word has come from the team at the time of this posting on what his outlook is, but the team over at Sports Injury Central thinks that he'll require surgery and will miss the season.

Oneil Cruz suffered a broken ankle on this play. How long will he be out for the @Pirates? Our panel of Pro Docs share their analysis. #LetsGoBucs

Here >>> https://t.co/3rTzmDDXsB pic.twitter.com/zl9oCv7Y2F

— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) April 9, 2023

From their commentary on the situation:

"Suffered broken left ankle on awkward slide/collision at home plate on April 9 - will undergo immediate surgery and be placed on 60-day IL - his season is done and recovery likely to stretch into next spring training."

Either way, this is a massive blow for the Pirates. Cruz, 24, is among the brightest young stars in the game. He is hitting .250 for the season with a homer, four RBI and three stolen bases through 32 at-bats.

He made his major league debut in 2021 but really burst out in 2022, clocking 19 home runs and bringing in 61 in just 87 games. 

The Pirates will be home on Monday night for a series with the Astros. First pitch is 6:35 p.m. ET.

Follow Fastball on FanNation in social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.