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Cruz went 2-for-5 with an RBI, a double, a run scored and two stolen bases Thursday against the Nationals.
Cruz started his fifth straight game with a lefty starter on the mound, and he's only been benched once against southpaws this season. He continued his hot start to the campaign, doubling in a run in the fifth inning. Cruz also swiped two bases, giving him nine across 19 games while being caught just once.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Stays scorching hot in rout
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base, three RBI and three runs scored in Monday's 16-5 win over the Nationals.
Cruz continued his hot start, extending his hitting streak to 12 games while stuffing the stat sheet in another dominant performance. The 27-year-old's biggest swing came in Pittsburgh's 10-run sixth inning, when he ripped a 114.1 mph single off the right-field wall to drive in two runs. The dynamic shortstop has been one of baseball's most productive players early on, ranking among the league leaders in hits (22), home runs (5), RBI (16), batting average (.355), slugging percentage (.645) and OPS (1.074), while also sitting tied atop the NL in stolen bases (7). Through 16 games, Cruz looks every bit like the breakout star many expected and will look to continue his dominance at the plate as the season progresses.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homer, stolen base in loss
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, one walk and a stolen base in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Cubs.
With the wind whipping out to center at Wrigley Field on Sunday, Cruz led off the game with a solo blast. He struck out in each of his next three trips to the plate before walking and stealing his sixth base of the season in the ninth inning. It's been an all-or-nothing start to the 2026 campaign for Cruz, who is slashing .339/.400/.644 with five homers, 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, six steals and a 5:20 BB:K across 65 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Runs wild against Cubbies
Rotowire
Cruz went 4-for-5 with a walk, a double, a run scored and three stolen bases in Saturday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Cubs.
All three steals came against the battery of Edward Cabrera and Miguel Amaya, and the Pirates went 4-for-4 on the basepaths against that duo in the contest. Cruz also extended his hitting streak to 10 games with the huge performance from the leadoff spot, and through 60 plate appearances to begin the season he's slashing .345/.400/.618 with four homers, five stolen bases, 10 runs and 12 RBI.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Tallies fourth homer
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, three RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Orioles.
Cruz delivered his third three-RBI performance in his last five games. He kicked off the effort with an infield single in the second inning before popping a two-run home run four frames later. More impressive was that this was Cruz's third long ball and sixth hit against a lefty this season, which comes directly after logging only 11 knocks across 125 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025.
Cruz went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Reds.
The center fielder got things rolling for the Pirates when he hooked an Andrew Abbott curveball 407 feet down the right-field line in the first inning. Cruz has three homers in six games to begin the season, and all three have come in the last two days. He's batting .304 (7-for-23) with six RBI and seven runs, though he's still looking for his first steal of 2026.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Goes yard twice in win
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and a third run scored in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Reds.
The 27-year-old center fielder crushed a Brandon Williamson cutter an estimated 444 feet to lead off the fourth inning, before adding a two-run blast in the ninth off Pierce Johnson. They were Cruz's first homers and RBI of the season, and while he's batting .278 through five games, he's also struck out nine times in his first 19 plate appearances of 2026.
Cruz will start in center field and bat eighth in Tuesday's game against the Reds.
It's the first start for Cruz against a left-handed pitcher since Aug. 2 of last season, as he was out of the lineup the final 12 times the Pirates faced a lefty last year and the first time they went up against a southpaw in 2026. The left-handed-hitting Cruz is a career .174/.249/.315 hitter against southpaws.
Cruz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.
A couple of defensive miscues from Cruz allowed the Mets to take an early 5-2 lead in the first inning of Thursday's contest, so the Pirates will keep the 27-year-old on the bench to begin Saturday's game while Jake Mangum patrols center field.
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