Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz homers again versus the Rockies

A couple of days ago I wrote a brief article outlining the one bright spot from the team's loss to the Colorado Rockies. The Pirates, who were in a bit of a tailspin heading back home to play a 3-game series against, dropped the first game by a score of 3-2.

The one bright spot I mentioned was the two runs came off the bat of Oneil Cruz. The fact that he was able to take a left-handed reliever, one who was brought in specifically to face him, out of the stadium was reason alone for optimism. I wrote that might have been all Cruz needed to get going. For him to be able to square one up of a lefty suggests improvement and maybe him seeing the ball better.

After winning game 2 of the series by a score of 1-0, the team went into Sunday for the rubber match of the series with the Rockies. The Pirates needed to win this series. Not only to get back on track but also because they should. The Rockies are not a good baseball team, and the Pirates need to take the series against lesser opponents.

Well, Oneil Cruz played a big role in the final game. On the day Cruz went 2-4 with 2 runs batted in. He collected 6 total bags. Cruz just missed a home run in the 4th inning, instead winding up with a double. However, he would make sure of the homer in the 6th inning. Cruz would hit another 2 run shot, his second of the series. This would give the Bucs the lead 4-3, and they would go on to score 1 more to win 5-3 and take the series.

Overall, to see Cruz hit two home runs in a series is a reason for optimism for Pirates fans.

Cruz came into the series against the Rockies with only 3 home runs for the 2024 season. Now he has homered twice in 3 games. Hopefully, he is starting to get going, the offense desperately needs him to.