Pittsburgh Pirates: Oneil Cruz Era Begins, Takeaways From Series Win

Bligh Madris impresses in first series with the Pittsburgh Pirates

While Cruz got all the pub and attention, he was not the only player to have an impressive 2022 debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the series. Outfielder Bligh Madris was called up along with Cruz on Monday. For Madris, however, he was making his MLB debut.

It was almost fitting that Madris was mostly overshadowed by Cruz. After all, throughout his minor league career he has been a prospect that has often times been overlooked and underrated. That said, Madris quickly made an impact for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In his MLB debut he went 3-for-4 and made a terrific sliding catch in right field. Madris hit his first MLB home run on Tuesday night, then cleared the bases with a 3-run double in the 9th inning on Wednesday. Tuesday night also saw Madris make another great catch, while also playing the Clemente Wall perfectly on a ball hit by Jason Heyward to hold him to a single.

All told, Madris was 5-for-17 in the series. He collected his first 2 MLB doubles, first career home run, first career stolen base, and he drove in 6 runs. He struck out just 3 times and made multiple strong defensive plays in right field. For now at least it appears that Madris will be getting plenty of playing time for the Pirates.