Oneil Cruz hits two missiles in the Pirates loss to Phillies

There are few things on a baseball field as beautiful as a Oneil Cruz home run. Against the Phillies on Sunday Cruz hit not just one homerun but 2. He did accomplish this in the game's first two innings as well. These home runs were absolute missiles too, not just cheap Spring Training homers.

The Phillies had recently acquired Max Castillo on the mound to start the game. After taking a ball for the first pitch of the at-bat, Cruz took the 2nd pitch, 91 miles per hour offering, and belted it to right field. The ball reached an exit velocity of 116 miles per hour. Here is the video from the Pirates feed on X (formerly Twitter):

After the home run by Cruz, fans of Pirates saw Bryan Reynolds hit one out in the very next at-bat. Reynolds' bomb was not nearly as impressive as just 101 miles per hour, but it counts the same! Obviously a rough start for the young right-handed Castillo. Well, things would continue in the second inning for Cruz and the Pirates. On a 3-2 pitch with designated hitter Carter Bins on second base, Cruz received an 85-mile-per-hour change-up from Castillo. He would send it out much faster. Here is the 2nd home run for Cruz courtesy of the Pirates X (formerly Twitter) feed once again:

This blast was recorded at 114 miles per hour, another absolute missile from the left-handed hitting shortstop.

Oneil Cruz launching home runs is a welcomed sign for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cruz was only able to record 9 total games in 2023 before going down with his ankle injury. The fact that he is hitting pitches a long way at impressive exit velocity numbers is exciting to see. Hopefully, missing all of that time in 2023 does not affect his game, but as of now, it looks like Oneil Cruz is going to be just fine. The Pirates dropped the game against the Phillies 9-7.