Oneil Cruz found himself in the crosshairs of irate Pittsburgh Pirates fans on Thursday after his fielding blunders against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y.
After the game, he tried to put the blame for his errors on something that’s over 90 million miles away.
“Just the sun was right in front of my face,” Cruz, who is from the Dominican Republic, told reporters through an interpreter, via SNY Mets.
“You don’t want those things to happen, but it was really uncomfortable today to have the sun right in front of my face. I tried my best, but it was kinda tough.”
Oneil’s outfield miscues led to four runs for the Mets in the first inning and later prompted an early hook for Pirates ace Paul Skenes, as Pittsburgh went on to lose the game, 11-7.
Defense has always been an issue for Cruz, with or without the sun in his face. During the 2025 season, he led the big leagues with 11 errors as an outfielder. A season before that, he committed 24 errors as a shortstop. Although Cruz went 1-for-5 with a run scored against the Mets, his errors (and three strikeouts) greatly outweighed whatever positives he provided in the contest.
