Detroit Tigers at Pittsburgh Pirates

Few players in the world can replicate the power Oneil Cruz produces. In his first game back off the 60-day injured list, Cruz showed off that power with a two-run shot in the fifth inning to give the Pirates a lead in their 4-1 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night at PNC Park. Cruz hammered a 2-2 knuckle curve from Detroit starter Keider Montero into the right-center-field seats. The 6-foot-7 center fielder admired his shot as it went a Statcast-projected 422 feet, with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph. “It felt good to be up here again, also when I was down there with my rehab,” Cruz said through interpreter Stephen Morales. “I feel pretty good physically and mentally. We’re going to be OK.” Cruz’s homer broke up Montero’s no-hitter and jump-started a three-run fifth. The two-run shot was all the Pirates needed as starter Braxton Ashcraft twirled eight innings of one-run ball and Mason Montgomery closed the door in the ninth. “That's what we expect out of him,” Ashcraft said of Cruz. “He's been that type of player for a long time. That's why he’s as highly touted as he is, because he can change the game at one swing, one at-bat, and it's just good to have that threat back in the lineup and that comfort of knowing that a one-run, two-run lead is never safe.” View this post on Instagram