Top prospect Oneil Cruz sparks Pirates to 6-run rally, win against Reds in MLB debut

As a 6-foot-7 shortstop, Oneil Cruz often is the subject of tall tales.

The Pittsburgh Pirates even speak of their top prospect in mythical terms, so it’s no wonder Ke’Bryan Hayes called Cruz a “unicorn” who can hit baseballs 600 feet with a single swing.

Cruz didn’t deliver any majestic home runs but he certainly was colorful in producing the hardest hit ball by a Pirate in the Statcast era – a seventh-inning single to right field with an exit velocity of 118.2 mph.

The 22-year-old provided a magical moment in his major league debut when his first career hit went for an RBI single to spark a six-run fifth inning as the Pirates rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-6, Saturday night before 22,910 at PNC Park.

“I didn’t know it was the hardest-hit ball, but I know this kid is talented,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He hits the ball hard. We saw him hit the ball hard in the minor leagues. Good night for him: Two base hits, double play turned. We got to see the arm. That was impressive. So an impressive debut for Oneil.”

The Pirates (61-100) got a four-hit performance from Bryan Reynolds, who fell a home run short of the cycle but boosted his batting average to .304 entering Sunday’s season finale. Mitch Keller will face the Reds (82-79), as the Pirates try to clinch their first series sweep of the season.

Even Reynolds raved about Cruz’s exit velocity in his debut, noting that he shined defensively by turning a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth and almost turned two in the fourth.

“Just threw the bat at it and hit it that hard. That’s unheard of,” Reynolds said. “He’s a special talent. You saw that. You saw the exit velo, the arm on the double play, running down the line. He’s gonna be fun to watch.”

Word leaked late Friday night that Cruz was getting the call-up to the major leagues, only 12 days after receiving a promotion from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates made the move official Saturday afternoon, recalling Cruz and placing right-handed pitcher Tanner Anderson on the 10-day injured list with a right foot contusion.

Shelton said it had nothing to do with Cruz hitting five home runs in his first six games with Indianapolis but rather a reward for accepting a spring-training challenge to show more accountability this season. The move caught Cruz by surprise, as he was focused on trying to get one more home run and one more steal before his season ended.

“I wanted to get that 20/20,” Cruz said, “but I’ll take this over that any day.”

Despite doubts that he could stay there because of his size, Cruz became the tallest player in MLB history to start a game at shortstop. The Pirates had flirted with the idea of trying him in the outfield but resisted after Cruz missed six weeks this summer with a right forearm strain.

“When I got on that field and I began to stretch, I just felt nothing but success,” Cruz said. “All I wanted was to get on that shortstop position, and I just kept telling myself, ‘Man, I just want to stand in that shortstop position. I just want to stand in that shortstop position.’ I was just really excited for the game, really excited to get the game going and just be a part of this game.”

Cruz flashed his bat speed and prodigious power by crushing the final pitch in batting practice, clearing the Clemente Wall and sailing over the right field seats. Twice he came to bat with the bases loaded, striking out swinging in the fifth and looking in the eighth.

“Those are experiences that, when I look back, I was able to be in those situations and have those experiences in my debut,” Cruz said. “Those are growing moments for me.”

The Reds jumped out to a 5-0 lead against rookie right-hander Max Kranick. Yoshi Tsutsugo showed in the first inning why many suspect the Pirates would like to move Cruz to right field, where there has been a hole since Gregory Polanco was released in late August. Tyler Stephenson hit a bloop single that Tsutsugo whiffed on, then watched as it rolled toward the warning track as the Reds catcher raced to third. Stephenson scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Nick Castellanos to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates took advantage when Ben Gamel reached second on an error by Reds center fielder Delino DeShields. But Cruz grounded out to shortstop to end the second inning.

DeShields led off the third with a single to center, advanced to second on Tyler Mahle’s sacrifice bunt and scored for a 2-0 lead when Max Shrock’s bloop to shallow center dropped between Reynolds and Cruz.

After Joey Votto walked, Eugenio Suarez followed by driving a 2-2 fastball 427 feet into the center field hedges for his 31st home run and a 4-0 Reds lead. Kranick lasted only four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks. Nick Castellanos took Enyel De Los Santos deep to center with a two-out, 402-foot shot for his 34th homer and a 5-0 Reds lead in the fifth.

Gamel and Jacob Stallings hit back-to-back singles to start the fifth, and Cruz grounded a full-count splitter into right field to score Gamel to cut it to 5-1. Pinch hitter Wilmer Difo followed with a triple to right, and Cruz sped around the bases to score on Stallings’ heels to make it 5-3. Cole Tucker beat out a grounder to first to score Difo, bringing the Pirates within a run of the Reds.

Michael Chavis hit a two-out double to drive in two more runs for a 6-5 Pirates lead. A Gamel single and Stallings walk loaded the bases for Cruz as the Pirates batted around the order, but he chased Reds lefty Justin Wilson’s slider to go down swinging.

“Any time one of your prospects comes to the big leagues, it’s a big night,” Shelton said. “All of a sudden, he gets the base hit, gets the RBI, Difo gets the big pinch-hit hit with a couple of RBIs, then it kind of went from there. So I do think that it gave us some momentum. And the crowd got into it, man. They were way into it, and any time you have that, you start to feel a little bit, and I think our guys felt it tonight.”

The Reds tied it at 6-6 in the sixth, when TJ Friedl hit a leadoff double and scored on a double by Stephenson, but Bryan Reynolds tripled to score Tsutsugo to make it 7-6 in the bottom of the inning.

The Pirates hit three consecutive singles – including the laser to right by Cruz – to load the bases for Tucker, who drew a walk to score Stallings to give the Pirates an 8-6 lead.

“In all reality, after today, I do feel like I belong here,” Cruz said, reflecting on a year where he was involved in an auto accident that killed three people in his native Dominican Republic late last September. “I look back at everything that I fought through and everything that I’ve gone through to reach this mark, from the hard work, the preparation, the sacrifice, everything. Everything that’s been a part of this journey, I look back at it and take a look at today, and I truly believe that I belong here. I’m looking forward to being a part of this big league team.”

In a postgame interview on the field with AT&T SportsNet, Cruz received cheers from a crowd that stayed to watch fireworks and made a promise to be part of the Pirates’s turnaround.

“I’m going to give you guys my very best,” Cruz said, “to help this organization win more games.”