Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz of Nizao, Dominican Republic is expected to be out long term after breaking his ankle on Sunday in a 1-0 Pirates win over the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday. According to Mike Axisa of CBS Sports, he is expected to miss approximately three months.
How and When the Injury Happened
The injury happened in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Cruz collided with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala of Fort Hood, Texas on a fielder’s choice. Zavala and Cruz then had a verbal exchange thereafter, which led to a clearing of the benches. However, there was not a brawl as no punches were thrown.
Pirates shutout win
The Pirates scored the lone run in the game in the bottom of the second inning when center fielder Jack Suwinski of Chicago, Illinois hit a sacrifice fly. He scored right fielder Canaan Smith-Njigba of Dallas, Texas from third base.
This was the first Pirates shutout win of the season. Johan Oviedo of Havana, Cuba pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings and gave up only five hits. He had five strikeouts compared to zero walks. Relievers Dauri Moreta of Elias Pina, Dominican Republic, Colin Holderman of Bourbonnais, Illinois, and closer David Bednar of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania combined for two and a third shutout innings of relief.
Last season, the Pirates had six shutout victories. They defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on May 15, the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 on June 5, the Miami Marlins 1-0 on July 23, the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 on August 28, the Reds 1-0 on September 13, and the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on September 24.
Oneil Cruz in 2023
So far this season, Cruz is batting .250 with one home run and four runs batted in. He has seven runs scored, eight hits, one double, three stolen bases, seven walks, one sacrifice fly, an on base percentage of .375 and a slugging percentage of .375. The extra base hits came in Pirates wins. The home run came in a 5-4 Pirates win over the Reds on March 30, and the double came in a 7-6 Pirates win over the Boston Red Sox on April 3.
Second in the NL Central
With the win, the Pirates improved to a record of six wins and three losses. They are one game back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
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