Pirates Pull Oneil Cruz From Lineup After Brutal Game
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PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz had an Opening Day to forget for the Pittsburgh Pirates and it looks like he will have to deal with the consequences of it.
Cruz is not in the lineup vs. the Mets in the second game of the season and series, at Citi Field on March 28. Jake Mangum, who the Pirates acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19 takes his place and will hit ninth in the lineup.
The 27-year old made two crucial mistakes for the Pirates in the first inning in center field. He first started too far in to deal with a fly ball from designated hitter Brett Baty, which ended up as a bases-clearing triple, and then misplaced a ball in the sun, which dropped for a double and scored Baty.
Those two plays on back-to-back pitches brought in four runs and helped end right-handed starter Paul Skenes' outing before the end of the first inning, his shortest start of his brilliant, young career.
It was a tough day for Cruz at the plate, aside from a bloop single to leadoff the game, as he finished 1-for-5, although he did work some long at-bats and didn't make mistakes in center field in the remainder of the 11-7 defeat.
Cruz could get a chance on later in this game vs. the Mets, but his absence is a big move for Pirates manager Don Kelly this early in the season.
How the Rest of the Pirates Lineup Shapes Up
Name | Position | Batting Side |
|---|---|---|
Jared Triolo | Shortstop | Right |
Ryan O'Hearn | First Base | Left |
Bryan Reynolds | Left Field | Switch |
Marcell Ozuna | Designated Hitter | Right |
Nick Gonzales | Third Base | Right |
Brandon Lowe | Second Base | Left |
Nick Yorke | Right Field | Right |
Joey Bart | Catcher | Right |
Jake Mangum | Center Field | Switch |
The Pirates made big changes to the lineup, as they face Mets left-handed pitcher David Peterson, with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m.
Mangum starting over Cruz may be because the former is a switch-hitter and the latter bats left-handed. Mangum slashed .279/.309/.341 for an OPS of .650 vs. left-handed pitchers in 2025, while Cruz struggled massively against southpaws, slashing .102/.224/.176 for an OPS of .400, with 11 hits in 108 at-bats.
Cruz put work in during Spring Training against left-handed pitching, but Kelly has also sat him against southpaws before.
Other changes see Joey Bart come in for Henry Davis at catcher, who he will work with right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller, who makes his first start of the season. Bart will also hit eight in the lineup.
Ryan O'Hearn moves back to his traditional first base role in place of Spencer Horwitz, hitting second, and Nick Yorke makes his first start of the campaign, coming in place of O'Hearn in right field and batting seventh.
Horwitz, a lefty hitter has struggled against left-handed pitching as well, slashing .186/.314/.279 for an OPS of .593 in 2025, while O'Hearn, also a left hitter, did much better against southpaws, slashing .278/.358/.474 for an OPS of .832 last season.
Bryan Reynolds stays in left field and third in the lineup, rounding out the outfield, and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna sticks at fourth in the batting order.
The Pirates infield stays mostly the same, but the batting order differs. Shortstop Jared Triolo will hit leadoff after batting sixth on Opening Day, third baseman Nick Gonzales hits fifth instead of eighth and second baseman Brandon Lowe moves down from second to sixth
Lowe is coming off an historic Opening Day, as he hit two home runs for the Pirates in his first two plate appearances and will look to continue his power tear again vs. the Mets.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.