Pirates' Oneil Cruz Immediately Makes Massive Play at CF
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates started Oneil Cruz in center field for the first time in his career on Wednesday afternoon, and he showed off his immense arm talent almost immediately.
In the top of the second inning with the score tied 1-1 and a runner on second base, Cruz's opposite number in Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a single up the middle off of Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes.
With one out in the frame, Cubs third base coach Willie Harris saw a prime opportunity to push a run across against Pittsburgh's ace. He made the split-second decision to test Cruz's accuracy and waved home Nico Hoerner, one of the team's more apt baserunners.
Cruz fired a strike on one hop to Pittsburgh catcher Yasmani Grandal, who could not corral it as the ball bounced to the backstop. Hoerner slid in safely while Crow-Armstrong advanced to third base and eventually came around to score.
Oneil Cruz with a 103.3 mph throw home. Second-hardest throw in MLB this season. Also don't really care about the error. Ball should have been caught. Paul Skenes in the wrong spot backing up.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) August 28, 2024
The throw registered at an absurd 103.3 miles-per-hour, making it the second-highest velocity toss from a position player across MLB this season.
He was questionably charged with his 25th error of the season on the play, but Cruz otherwise held his own in just his second-ever big league appearance in the outfield.
While the fact that it was Cruz's first chance at an outfield assist makes that number all the more impressive, he has graded out favorably in the arm strength department all year. According to Baseball Savant, Cruz's average velocity from the shortstop position coming into the day was 95.6 miles-per-hour, ranking sixth in the league.
Offensively, Cruz pushed his hitting streak to nine games with a 2-for-5 performance, but the Pirates blew a 10-3 lead over the final three innings in a 14-10 loss.
JACK MARKOWSKI