Oneil Cruz crushes 2 home runs, 6 RBIs as Pirates pound Phillies for 16 hits

Oneil Cruz continues to crush home runs, as the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop hit a pair that traveled a combined 822 feet in going 3 for 4 with six RBIs on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cruz got some company from Rowdy Tellez, as both hit three-run shots in a six-run third inning as the Pirates cruised to an 11-2 win in a Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.

Cruz now has seven home runs, tied with Baltimore’s Kyle Stowers for the most in the major leagues in spring training and the most by a Pirates hitter since Jung Ho Kang had seven in 2019.

Oneil Cruz two homer day, he's on a TEAR pic.twitter.com/BYM8ONqqDN

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 18, 2024

Cruz’s 14 RBIs also are tied for second behind Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford. Cruz leads all players with 13 runs scored. Cruz also extended his on-base streak to 10 games and his hit streak to six.

The Pirates lead the majors with 46 home runs this spring, one shy of the club record that was set in 2006 and tied in 2018.

The Pirates pounded the Phillies for 16 hits, as Cruz was one of six players with a multi-hit game. Ke’Bryan Hayes had his third consecutive multi-hit game, going 3 for 4 to boost his his batting average to .421 (16 for 38) and OPS to 1.147 in 13 games. Henry Davis, Tellez, Jared Triolo and Billy McKinney all had two each.

Left-hander Martin Perez got the win after recording eight strikeouts — the most by a Pirates pitcher since Trevor Williams did so in 2018 — while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in throwing 55 of his 89 pitches for strikes over five innings. Tyler Phillips, who allowed eight runs on 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings, took the loss.

The Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second. Davis hit a leadoff single, advanced to third on a single by Tellez and scored when Joshua Palacios hit into a double play. Triolo followed with a two-out single and scored on a double by McKinney, who scored on a single by Cruz.

In the third, Hayes and Jack Suwinski hit back-to-back singles before Tellez drilled a 1-0 changeup by Phillips for a 418-foot home run — his first of spring training — and a 6-0 lead. Triolo and McKinney combined for a pair of two-out singles, and Cruz crushed Daniel Harper’s full-count four-seam fastball 419 feet for another three-run shot to give the Pirates a 9-0 lead.

The Phillies cut it to 9-1 when Jake Cave doubled to right field and Bryson Stott scored on a throwing error by Bryan Reynolds in the fourth.

Cruz sent Spencer Turnbull’s 1-2 curve 403-feet to right-center for a two-run shot in the fifth, his second homer of the game. All of Cruz’s homers have had exit velocities of 104.9 mph or higher this spring.

Nick Castellanos singled to left, and Aidan Miller scored on an error by Cruz at shortstop to cut it to 11-2 in the fifth.

The Pirates are off Tuesday, and left-hander Marco Gonzales is expected to start when they play the New York Yankees at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.