Oneil Cruz (hand) beginning rehab assignment

He added his 26th stolen base of the season in the sixth inning. It’s his second three-walk game of the season. Cruz has stuffed the stat sheet in 78 games this year, with 17 homers. If he hadn’t missed a large chunk of time, he’d probably be regarded as one of the best fantasy picks this year as he’s rebounded nicely from 2025’s .200 batting average. He’s now hitting .270/.362/.483 on the season.

An unusual night for Cruz; his hits were all singles, and only one, a 106-mph grounder, was a hard-hit ball. It’s both his fifth career four-hit game and four-RBI game. He’s batted .311 with three homers and 12 RBI in 12 games since coming off the injured list.

One swing was all it took to win this one. The game remained scoreless into the ninth after an incredible pitcher’s duel between Paul Skenes and Michael King. With two outs and Padres’ closer Mason Miller on the mound, Cruz crushed a changeup for a solo home run to right field to give the Pirates the lead with what would be the game-winning run. The 27-year-old outfielder is up to 17 homers, 49 runs scored, 52 RBI, and 22 steals while slashing .260/.348/.491 across 310 plate appearances.

With two runners on in the first inning, Cruz laced a triple on a sharp line drive to right field, plating two runs for the Pirates. It was his first triple of the season and third extra-base hit in four games since returning from the injured list. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .266/.355/.494 with 16 homers, 48 runs scored, 51 RBI, and 22 steals across 299 plate appearances.

Cruz — who was traded from the Dodgers to the Pirates for something called Tony Watson — tied the game at 4-4 with his 16th homer; a two-run shot against Kyle Hurt. The 27-year-old’s power production has been limited because of injury, but he’s been productive as seen in a .266/.356/.490 slash.

Cruz’ home run was his 15th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Keider Montero in the fifth inning. Cruz was playing in his first game since suffering a hand injury on June 7. He’s hitting .265 with an .832 OPS and 46 RBI this year.

Cruz is back in Pittsburgh’s lineup for the first time since June 7. The electrifying 27-year-old fantasy standout sat out Monday’s series opener against Detroit after being activated from the injured list. He wound up missing more than two months with multiple non-displaced fractures in his left hand. He’ll wind up sitting against the occasional lefty, but has made enough progress against them this season that it won’t happen every single time down the home stretch.

He’s back, except he’s not starting tonight against lefty Framber Valdez. Cruz, who missed more than two months with a hand fracture, went 3-for-22 over six games on his rehab assignment. Although he’s clearly not at his best just yet, it’s probably worth getting him back into fantasy lineups anyway and hoping he steals some bases right away. His return figures to push Jake Mangum to a corner and result in some DH time for Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez. Ronny Simon, who had been DHing a lot, was sent down to open up a spot.

The Pirates decided to extend Cruz’s rehab assignment after he was reevaluated earlier this week. The 27-year-old center fielder is working his way back from multiple non-displaced fractures in his left hand that sent him to the injured list in early June. There’s a decent chance he’s ready to return to Pittsburgh’s lineup later this week.

Cruz played seven innings in center field on Sunday and will now be evaluated by the Pirates. His results haven’t been great in Triple-A, but if the organization deems that he’s healthy enough to return, we could see Cruz back in the lineup this week.