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Pirates, Derek Shelton finally make correct call as Oneil Cruz joins exclusive company

Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Rum Bunter

Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Angels / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

Oneil Cruz needed just one pitch to keep his blazing hot streak alive on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder mashed the first pitch of the game from Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki over the center field wall for his eighth home run of the season. He followed that up with an RBI single in the fifth inning and a walk in the seventh, keeping the Pirates in the fight until their bullpen melted down and blew the game in what would end up being an 8-4 Dodgers win.

With his first-pitch homer against the Dodgers, Cruz became just the third player in MLB history to hit eight home runs and steal 12 bases through the first 25 games of a season, joining Eric Davis (1987) and Brian Roberts (2005).

It was also Cruz's fourth leadoff homer of the season, which leads all of Major League Baseball.

Pirates, Derek Shelton finally make correct call as Oneil Cruz joins exclusive company

After trying out several different lineups with a rotating cast of hitters in the leadoff spot over the first few weeks of the season, Pirates manager Derek Shelton appears to have landed on a solution – albeit an unconventional one.

Cruz is the kind of power bat that most teams would love to have in the middle of their lineup. But the Pirates aren't most teams; they're worse.

The Pirates' offense is so bad that no matter where Cruz bats in the lineup, he's probably coming to the plate with no runners on base. With that in mind, there's no sense in batting him third or fourth when he could see more at-bats at the top of the order. Not to mention, it's harder for opposing pitchers to pitch around Cruz when he's batting in the leadoff spot.

When batting at the top of the order this season, Cruz has a slash line of .326/.396/.721. Batting from any other position in the lineup, his numbers fall to .213/.350/.468. Whether it's where Cruz hits in the lineup or simply the fact that things are finally starting to click for him offensively – or a combination of both – he could be the reliable leadoff hitter that the Pirates need to establish some stability at the top of their batting order.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). She is also a credentialed NHL reporter and a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. You can follow her @Emma Lingan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.