Oneil Cruz makes debut in left field, Hunter Owen hits walkoff homer as Pirates top Twins

BRADENTON, Fla. — As much as Oneil Cruz wants to stay at shortstop, he prefers to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates more than anything. So he was receptive to their request to do outfield drills earlier this week.

Cruz got a phone call from Triple-A Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez on Thursday night with word he would be starting in left field Friday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game against the Minnesota Twins.

“I was all for it. I was like, ‘Let’s go,’ ” Cruz said through team translator Mike Gonzalez. “Anywhere they put me, I’m ready to play.”

While the focus was on the 6-foot-7 Cruz, his ninth-inning replacement stole the show, as Hunter Owen hit a two-out, walk-off home run to lift the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Twins at LECOM Park.

Cruz never had played outfield in his minor league career, though he did see action in center field against Atlanta last spring. He repeatedly has said his preference is to play shortstop, but the Pirates are trying to find a way to get his bat in the lineup and fill a need in the outfield corners.

The Twins tested Cruz right away as their second batter, Ryan Jeffers, hit a deep fly to the warning track that landed in Cruz’s glove.

“All I had in mind was to catch the ball and make the out,” Cruz said.

After Wilson walked Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick, the Twins took a 1-0 lead when Jake Cave’s pop fly dropped in front of a charging Cruz in shallow center. The Gulf wind and clear blue skies made it a difficult play for Cruz, who took a circuitous route to the ball.

“That play is tough for a guy who’s played left field for his entire career, with the wind and how (the ball) came off the bat,” Wilson said. “I think he’s going to be able to adjust to that and be good there or shortstop, second, third, wherever it needs to be.”

Wilson got Jose Miranda to ground into a forceout to end the top of the first, then struck out the next four batters looking with glove-side two-seamers. Wilson finished with four strikeouts and three walks in 2 2/3 innings, throwing 31 of his 54 pitches for strikes.

“If they’re not gonna swing it, I might as well keep throwing the same pitch,” Wilson said. “They all did what they were supposed to do. They’re take pitches, ball to strike pitches. The biggest part was I was able to set them up well and throw them off the four-seam and the curveball. That was huge.”

Bryan Reynolds hit his first homer of spring training to tie the score, 1-1.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton was impressed with how Cruz moved in the outfield, noting how he caught a line drive to left in the third inning with a runner on base and hit the right cutoff man.

“Overall, he did a nice job out there with his first time being out there,” Shelton said.

Cruz also continued to impress with his bat, reaching on a fielding error when Twins shortstop Austin Martin couldn’t handle a 113.4-mph one-hopper and Cruz beat the throw to first. The Pirates, however, left runners stranded in four of five innings.

Then Owen came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and hit Lewis Thorpe’s 1-1 changeup over the left field wall for the win. Owen also homered against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday in Lakeland.

“I’m happy for Hunter Owen,” Shelton said. “That’s two homers in the last two games that he’s played. Took a good swing and I think you’re happy for the kid that he took a good swing.”

Zach Thompson is scheduled to start against Tyler Wells when the Pirates play the Baltimore Orioles at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.