Cruz sparks offensive onslaught with two homers in win over Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Oneil Cruz continues to punish baseballs and opposing pitchers this spring. 

He hit two home runs -- his sixth and seventh in 11 games -- and drove in six runs to help lead a 16-hit attack for the Pirates in an 11-2 win over the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark on Monday. 

In collecting his third multi-hit game of the spring, Cruz is now slashing .355/.444/.1.032 with a 1.476 OPS. He's driven in 14 runs and scored 13. 

“I don’t have the vocabulary to describe him," Rowdy Tellez said. "It’s impressive. I’ve been on the other side of it, so it’s nice to be on this side of it, watch it and actually clap instead of being upset we threw that pitch to him. He’s gonna be a generational player. He’s an elite player and he’s one of the best to run out there every day at the six position. We have a lot to look forward to.” 

After delivering with a second-inning RBI single to right field that had an exit velocity of 110.9 mph, Cruz hit homers in the third and fifth innings. His third-inning blast off Daniel Harper came on a 3-2 fastball on the outside part of the plate. It traveled 419 feet and had an exit velo of 111.1 mph: 

In the fifth inning, he took Spencer Turnbull deep on a 1-2 curveball down and in. That one went 403 feet with a 106.4 mph exit velo: 

"He’s awesome," Martin Perez said of Cruz. "You don’t know how much power he has. It's impressive. He’s getting better. Mentally he’s better. He’s preparing for the game, he’s listening a little bit more. From my side, I’m gonna help him a lot, especially on the mental side. He’s the future of this organization, so just trying to give him some good direction and help him have a long career."

Cruz was one of six players to finish with multi-hit performances in Clearwater, joining Tellez, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Billy McKinney, Henry Davis and Jared Triolo in combining for 14 of the team's hits. The other two came off the bats of Jack Suwinski and Alika Williams. 

Tellez added a three-run home run of his own in a six-run third inning. His first homer of the spring came on a 1-0 changeup right down the middle from starter Tyler Phillips. The ball traveled 418 feet with an exit velo of 111.8 mph: 

"It’s spring training, so it’s time to work on things, time to figure things out," Tellez said. "Got off to a little bit of a slow start, but I feel like altogether this spring, I’ve put really good at-bats together, a lot of 3-2 counts and not chasing a ton. To make that time around the bases, it felt good, but I’m just worried about making sure I can repeat my swing over and over. It’s just hard work and working with hitting coaches and getting it squared away.” 

Hayes matched Cruz with a three-hit showing to give him seven hits in his last 10 at-bats. He's slashing .421/.436/.711 with three home runs and nine RBIs. He's walked once and only struck out once in 38 at-bats. 

Plus, he continues to show off the impressive defense that allowed him to win a Gold Glove over at third base last season. His latest example? This diving stop and throw to first to get Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning: 

Despite there being a few errors behind him, Perez put together another effective performance in his third spring start. He allowed two unearned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight in five innings. Perez struck out Kyle Schwarber three times, all on changeups, including this one at 80.8 mph in the fifth:

"Getting ready for the season, everything was good," Perez said. "Couple walks, but that’s part of the game. Other than that, everything was fine. All my pitches, working on what I wanted. I feel good." 

Perez, who has given up just one earned run in 12 innings this spring, benefitted from 10 called strikes and two whiffs when using his sinker, which he turned to 39 times. He went to the cutter on 26 occasions and got four whiffs and four called strikes. He got four more whiffs in going with his changeup 14 times. 

"I’ve been trying to locate my pitches more. I’m not trying to overthrow because when you overthrow, you put your body in a different direction," Perez said. "Just trying to stay on top always. Always trying to throw first-pitch strikes. I think I threw good pitches. He didn’t want to give it to me, but it’s too early. Was fun. Enjoy it. We’re playing good every day. Playing better and better. It’s gonna be a good season for us."

Oh, and in regards to that run support, Perez will gladly welcome similar performances once the season begins in Miami at the end of next week. 

"I always tell the guys, ‘We’re hitting too much. We have to save it for the season,’" Perez said. "That’s cool. Everybody goes out there and enjoys it, tries to have fun. I think that’s one of the keys. You have to go out there and have fun. If you don’t have fun, it’s hard to win. Playing with pressure is too much. It’s not easy. You don’t have to make it hard. It’s already hard."