PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – April 26th was the last time Pirates Oneil Cruz had homered. Friday night, Cruz not only got the Bucs on the board, but kept it going with home runs as he’s starting to find a groove again in a 6-5 Bucs win over Milwaukee in 10 innings.
Cruz hit a 117.9 mile-an-hour, 442-foot home run in the third (third hardest-hit ball this year according to Baseball Savant). Then after David Bednar had given up a home run in the top of the ninth as the Brewers took the lead, Cruz homered in the bottom, 427 feet, to send the game to the 10th.
"Geez, I mean two great swings,” said Pirates manager Don Kelly. “I think I heard coming up the steps that was his first multi-home run game. Two long ones out there, and the second one was really, really big, to tie that up off a good pitcher like Uribe.”
"I feel like I'm in a good spot right now,” Cruz said through interpreter and Pirates coach Stephen Morales. “Not quite 100%, but really close to it, and I feel pretty good because I've been doing my work in the training room just to keep myself in a good spot. It's coming in well."
It had been nearly a month since that last jog around the bases and was coming after the last two games in Philadelphia where he struck out seven times. It’s now hits in three straight and just better contact overall.
"Definitely a lot of confidence, but that's the way I go out there every time to take care of business,” Cruz said. “I always have a lot of confidence in myself and what I can do, and we were playing a really good team today. I'm pretty sure they were trying to do the same. But yeah, that's the key for me just to go out there with a lot of confidence to overcame anything out there."
It’s a different team when Cruz is hitting and hitting for power. He leads the team in home runs and he is the one dynamic hitter in the lineup. Bryan Reynolds is an All-Star, but Cruz can do things few in the game can.
"It feels good to just be able to go out there and everybody contributes to a win,” Cruz said. “Everybody thinks right now they're playing really good baseball and not giving up and playing really happy. It's just a matter of putting in their effort for us to come out on top."
“Great to see him getting his timing back,” Kelly said. “I know we talked about that coming off the back injury, facing Wheeler and then Abel and those two guys, but really, I'm more proud of him and his approach, really.”
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“You look at the walks, the plate discipline, the way that he's able to work the count, get on base, use his legs and we saw the power tonight. Just a real special player."
Morales things so. He’s grown a tight relationship with Cruz, probably not just for the times he translates for him. He’s also able to have a real relationship with the 26-year-old. One that he can say what he thinks to Cruz. That is why you saw Cruz look back at the dugout after the first home run Friday night and make a gesture. He was giving it to Morales because of what he had said previously.
"I just told him, 'hey, I just thought I was going to wait another month to see you hit another home run.'” Morales said with Cruz grinning. “I got under him a little bit, like I always do, just to get the best out of him, and he responded. And the second one, he hit [that], and I'm like, 'ok, fine, you can do that 20 more times or 30 more times and I'll be happy.'"
After Morales started to explain it’s not about him, rather it’s about Cruz. The 6’7”, 240-pound centerfielder looked down at Morales and said.
"Was it you that hit the home run?" with a grin you see after fighting back to win a tight division game and have your first career two-homer night.
Cruz is warming up and maybe he will ‘do that 20 or 30 more times’ as Morales requested.
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