PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh's Oneil Cruz had the hardest-hit ball since Statcast started tracking in 2015, a home run off Milwaukee's Logan Henderson on Sunday that left the bat at 122.9 mph and splashed into the Allegheny River.
Cruz's leadoff drive to right in the third inning on a 92.2 mph fastball traveled 432 feet and cut the Pirates' deficit to 3-1 in a 6-5 loss.
"I connected really well. It feels even better just to know that it's the hardest hit ball in the history of Statcast," Cruz said through an interpreter. "It doesn't matter how hard the ball was hit. I just go out and make good contact. Sometimes, I don't even try to make the hardest contact.”
Cruz had the previous hardest-hit ball, a 122.4 mph single on Aug. 24, 2022. Miami's Giancarlo Stanton had the prior hardest-hit home run at 121.8 mph, a drive off Gio Gonzalez at Washington on Aug. 9, 2017.
“The reason behind my at-bats is just to put good contact on the the ball,” Cruz said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder has hit six of the 83 home runs that have reached the river since PNC Park opened in 2001.
“I'm really glad that got out of the stadium because if that would've been into the stands, that thing is flying,” Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said. "I can't say enough about him and how he played, how he's been playing, especially in this series.
“Superstar-type stuff. ... Guys continue to grind, continue to battle. I think Oneil is, obviously, a huge part of that in what he's doing. It's contagious, too.”
Cruz leads the Pirates with 11 homers this season, including three in his past three games. He hit two Friday, tying it 4-all in the ninth with his second, for his first multi-homer game in a 6-5 win over the Brewers and had a 114.3 mph triple to drive in the winning run of a 2-1 victory Saturday.
“It's just about the focus and the work that I've been putting in lately," Cruz said. “That's the main key. It always feels good as a player just to be able to do that in one series.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Wes Crosby, The Associated Press
