Pittsburgh Pirates young star Oneil Cruz suffered a major injury on a play at the plate on Sunday.
Cruz was on third base with his Pirates leading the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes was batting against Michael Kopech, and the Pirates also had a runner on first with nobody out.
Hayes hit a slow grounder to third that Yoan Moncada fielded and threw home to try getting Cruz. Cruz was tagged out, but his left leg got stuck behind him, causing him to go down in pain.
Players from both teams came out to sort out a conflict.
Benches clear in Pittsburgh after a play at the plate involving Oneil Cruz
(via @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/zEfdulecBS
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 9, 2023
Cruz suffered a fractured ankle on the play, which explains why he was writhing.
Oneil Cruz has a fractured left ankle.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) April 9, 2023
White Sox catcher Seby Zavala did not seem to give Cruz a lane to home plate either.
Did Oneil Cruz have a lane here? An ugly play. Doesn't matter at this point. Just hope Cruz is OK. That didn't look good. pic.twitter.com/JIIwi5ir90
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) April 9, 2023
Losing Cruz is a bad brack for the Pirates. The 24-year-old was a highly-touted prospect who briefly made his MLB debut in 2021. Last season, the shortstop posted a .744 OPS with 17 home runs in 87 games.
Cruz has drawn attention for his hard throws in the field and even harder hits at the plate. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, he will be sidelined for some period of time.
