Oneil Cruz was able to figure out how Jake Odorizzi was going to pitch him during their first at-bat. The Braves' right-hander started with three straight cutters, using it as a way to get ahead in the count.
Cruz took notice.
"I was able to see the way he was attacking me and the way he was pitching me," Cruz said, via team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "When I went into the second at-bat, I just felt equipped and ready."
During his second at-bat in the fifth, Cruz saw a 1-1 cutter up in the zone and moving in. This time, he was ready to pounce:
That solo shot was the Pirates' only run in their 2-1 loss to the Braves at PNC Park Monday, but for Cruz, it was a step in the right direction for a young hitter who entered the majors with almost boundless potential as a player, but has struggled of late.
Even with his 1-for-3 performance Monday, Cruz is still just 7-for-50 (.140 average) with 26 strikeouts since August 5. Two of those punchouts were Monday, too, and before that homer, he had not gone deep since August 6.
"This could take a toll mentally on anyone," Cruz said via Gonzalez before the game while on the field. "I've recognized this early in my career and I've been told so many times and educated through other ballplayers how important it is to be mentally strong because no one goes up to the box wanting to strike out. No one wants to go up there just throwing away at-bats. That's not the goal. That's not the mission. Every time I get up there, I'm trying to go up there with a plan. I have a good coaching staff that's pouring into me and equipping me for those at-bats. Unfortunately, the results aren't falling my way. I just got to keep working."
So how does one stay mentally strong in one of the first prolonged slumps of their professional career?
"You want to be mindful of the opportunities to grow and the areas where I could get better, but at the same time, there's this balance of being able to say, 'Screw it,' " Cruz said shortly after. "Tomorrow's another game, showing up tomorrow with the mindset ready to see film, ready to see what the coaches spotted or what did I spot throughout my swings from the previous night."
That work with coaches is to try to adjust to how the league is pitching him. The book on him is out: He's struggling against the breaking stuff.
"I can say that, most definitely, they're pitching differently to me than what I'm used to over there in the minor league system," Cruz said.
Cruz has seen breaking balls more frequently this month than fastballs, and it's easy to see why. On the season, he is hitting just .092 with no extra-base hits against sliders and curves (6-for-65), and he has whiffed on two-thirds of the swings he's made against major-league sliders. That's the highest whiff rate against sliders in baseball over at least the last four years.
For a 6'7" athletic marvel who has homered against pitches at his ankles and way out of the strike zone multiple times, that can work against him when facing big-league breaking balls. He's done machine and video work with coaches to try to cut down on the whiff rate, but it hasn't happened thus far.
"I'm an aggressive hitter," Cruz said. "I try to hit any ball that's near me, near my zone or try to hit it hard. Another thing I'm learning up here is I can't be too picky. I've got to be picky, but at the same time, I can't be too picky. There's moments where I'm picky and I feel that ball is a ball and they call it a strike, and I come back in here and I see it's a ball. So it's trying to find that area of my zone."
Aggressive can lead to chases, so he has to mind that. And with that large strike zone, Cruz is going to take more than his share of called strikes, whether it's fair or not. So he can try to be "picky" waiting for a pitch, but that can get exploited.
It's a catch 22.
"He takes a pitch, any hitter takes a pitch early in the count, and you say, 'Wow, he should have swung at that,' " Derek Shelton said. "That's the in-between, and that's the challenging part of hitting, man. You've got to free your mind to be there. With young hitters, that's the ebbs and flows that we go through with it."
A home run swing will take a little off his plate. Earlier this season, Cruz hit a similar rough patch with Class AAA Indianapolis, but once that first fly ball flew over the outfield fence, he got back on track, something we might have seen in his final at-bat Monday.
His third and final at-bat of the night came against lefty A.J. Minter, who finally got him on a fastball on arguably Cruz's ugliest swing of the game:
But it was a seven pitch battle against a lefty who had been throwing him junk. Even if the final result was bad, he battled, and he left the ballpark having taken at least one big swing.
"Definitely some positive signs," Shelton said. "The big thing is when you're working as hard as he is and grinding like he is and you get rewarded by taking a good swing [for the home run], that’s really important."
Cruz was due for a reward, even if his struggles stem from points in his game where he will need to continue to grow and develop. Grow, not change.
"I don't want to change who I really am," Cruz said. "I don't want to change my aggressiveness. I don't want to change my pitch selection. If anything, I want to be wiser when it comes to it. I don't want to change my attitude."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Roansy Contreras deserved better Monday.
Pitching seven innings for the first time in his major-league career, he allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five. His one blemish was a curveball that Michael Harris II was able to get a hold of for a two-run fifth inning shot.
"Very emotional and very exciting as well," Contreras said about going seven innings, via Gonzalez. "Being able to face such a high-caliber team like the Braves and to be able to get the results that I've been working so diligently for, it says a lot to me. So I enjoyed tonight. It meant a lot."
"It's a definite step in the right direction," Shelton said. "I think what that shows is his stuff maintained and he was able to execute through seven strong."
After pitching without his fastball for most of his start, Contreras had better command of the pitch Monday, which helped set his slider up even more. The Braves swung 15 times at it and whiffed on eight of them.
"That's definitely a pitch I've been working a lot on, and to be able to see the results and help the team as well, it's a huge factor," Contreras said about his slider.
• Remember the last time Contreras faced the Braves back on June 10? It was one of his rougher starts in the majors, getting pulled after allowing four runs but before completing five innings.
Well, he sure did, and he made sure to mix his pitches throughout the start to give different looks based on how often he went through the lineup.
"I think it really sums up to remaining faithful with the plan," Contreras said. "I was very diligent. I did not forget my last outing against the Braves. I was mindful of that, evaluated that last outing as well that I faced them. Like I mentioned before, just sticking to the plan and not trying to overdo anything. Remaining faithful to the plan and just remaining faithful to executing pitches."
• Not much offense to talk about in this one. Cruz was the only Pirate to register an extra-base hit, with the rest of the team combining for just four singles and a walk. Their best chance at a rally actually came in the first when they managed to put runners on the corners, but Ben Gamel grounded into an inning-ending double-play.
A Bligh Madris walk and a Tyler Heineman bunt would get another runner into scoring position in the bottom of the eighth, though Tucupita Marcano and Kevin Newman could not get the tying hit when needed.
• Team result aside, I would say a day where Contreras goes seven innings and Cruz homers is a good day for the organization. If this rebuild is going to be successful, those two are going to have to be part of it.
• There was a 62-minute delay before this one got started.
• Factoid of the game: With Cruz's home run, Pirates rookies have now hit 42 home runs this season. That broke a tie with the 2004 club for the most homers by rookies in a season in franchise history. Between Cruz, Diego Castillo (10) and Jack Suwinski (14), this is also the first time the Pirates have had three rookies reach double-digit homers in a season.
• The Pirates are now 47-75 after the loss, including 8-21 since the All-Star break. Their .385 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 62-100 record. They need to go at least 16-24 down the stretch to avoid their second straight 100-loss season.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (strained mid-back muscle)
• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)
• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Tucupita Marcano, LF
2. Kevin Newman, 2B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Ben Gamel, DH
5. Michael Chavis, 1B
6. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
7. Oneil Cruz, SS
8. Bligh Madris, RF
9. Tyler Heineman, C
And for Brian Snitker's Braves:
1. Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
2. Dansby Swanson, SS
3. Austin Riley, 3B
4. Matt Olsen, 1B
5. Chase d'Arnaud, C
6. Eddie Rosario, DH
7. Vaughn Grissom, 2B
8. Michael Harris II, CF
9. Robbie Grossman, LF
THE SCHEDULE
Game two of this three-game set will be at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. JT Brubaker (3-10, 4.19) will face Max Fried (11-4, 2.60), and I'll have you covered.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
