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Paul Skenes Gave a Rare Impressed Reaction to Oneil Cruz's Monster Home Run

The homer flew for 463 feet.

Madison Williams

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes reacts to Oneil Cruz's 463-foot home run.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes reacts to Oneil Cruz's 463-foot home run. / MLB/Screengrab
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Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz crushed one of the biggest home runs of the MLB season so far on Wednesday night vs. the Los Angeles Angels, and it even elicited a rare reaction from pitcher Paul Skenes.

The ace is known for his stoic faces and for not giving much reaction to anything exciting (lest we forget about him winning the NL Rookie of the Year award last year). However, as Cruz's ball flew off his bat at 116.6 mph for 463 feet at Angel Stadium in the fifth inning, cameras panned to Skenes in the dugout with his mouth wide open.

Skenes had his hands in the air and looked truly impressed by his Pirates teammate. And that's not something you see every day from the pitcher.

The home run was the second-longest of Cruz's career. It was definitely a homer worth this reaction from Skenes.

It was also Cruz's sixth home run of the season.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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