Pirates' Oneil Cruz Makes Personal History With Latest Home Run

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz displayed what makes him one of the most powerful hitters in baseball against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.

Cruz faced Brewers starting right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta and on a 3-1, he hit a four-seam fastball on the hands out for a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning, putting the Pirates up 1-0.

117.9 MPH!

Oneil Cruz CRUSHES this ball 😱 pic.twitter.com/EmZxrLlHli
— MLB (@MLB) May 23, 2025

He hit that home run 117.9 mph, the hardest exit velocity on a home run in his career. It also went 442 feet, had a launch angle of 20 degrees and would've been a home run in any MLB ballpark.

It also marked his ninth home run of the year, his first home run in May and his first since April 26 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium

Cruz came through again for the Pirates in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he hit a 98.8 mph sinker from Brewers right-handed pitcher Abner Uribe 427 feet over the right field wall to tie the game at 4-4.

He does it AGAIN 🙌 pic.twitter.com/TWIUQxSmcW
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 24, 2025

This marked his first ever multi-home run game of his career, which proved crucial for the Pirates, who would go on and win the game, 6-5 in 10 innings.

Cruz spoke after the game through his interpreter Stephen Morales about how he relishes the big moments and wants to excel in them.

"Definitely. Those are the situations as a player you want to be in just to grow," If it's to tie the game or beat your team ahead, for sure, you want to be in those situations."

Cruz has shown his power through the leadoff spot this season, with four of them at the beginning of games. These came in back-to-back games at PNC Park on April 17 in a 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals and a 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on April 18, a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium on April 24 and his last home run vs. the Dodgers.

He also hit the first grand slam of his career in a 6-1 victory over the Nationals on April 16.

Cruz is slashing .229/.358/.464 for an OPS of .822, with 35 hits, six doubles, 10 home runs, 21 RBIs, 30 walks to 59 strikeouts and an MLB-leading 18 stolen bases.

He suffered a minor injury, after attempting to steal on a walk against the Atlanta Braves at home on May 10, which caused him to miss four games, including the New York Mets series at Citi Field, May 12-14.

Cruz returned vs. the Philadelphia Phillies for the next series at Citizens Bank Park, where he struggled, striking out eight times in nine at-bats, including three times on May 17 and four times on May 18, as the Pirates suffered a sweep.

He spoke on his back after the victory and said that he's getting close to full health and is getting better every day.

"I feel like I'm in a good spot right now," Cruz said. Not quite 100%, but really close to it, and I feel pretty good because I've been doing my work in the training room just to keep myself in a good spot. It's coming in well."

Cruz is also feeling much more confident with his play in recent days, with five hits in his last 12 at-bats and three straight games with a hit.

He hopes to continue that going forward and was pleased with his performance against a solid team like the Brewers.

"Definitely a lot of confidence, but that's the way I go out there every time to take care of business. I always have a lot of confidence in myself and what I can do, and we were playing a really good team today. I'm pretty sure they were trying to do the same. But yeah, that's the key for me just to go out there with a lot of confidence to overcame anything out there."

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