The Pittsburgh Pirates aim to be competitive for this new campaign, and for what it's worth, they have been holding their own to start things off in the early goings of the 2026 MLB regular season. They have a budding core that is taking shape, and on Tuesday night, slugger Oneil Cruz laid the smackdown on the Cincinnati Reds in an 8-3 win for the Pirates.

Cruz, who possesses immense power but is yet to put together the full package at the plate, went on a heater against the Reds. The Pirates centerfielder went 3-4 from the plate with 3 RBIs — with two of those hits leaving the yard.

His first home run came in the fourth inning. He came up against Reds starter Brandon Williamson, who is a fellow lefty, and he demolished a 3-1 cutter in on the hands and deposited the baseball onto the right field bleachers for a no-doubter.

As an encore, the Pirates centerfielder crushed a low but hanging curveball from Reds reliever Pierce Johnson and crushed it over the right field wall once again.

Entering the night, Cruz was sporting an OPS of .343 across 15 plate appearances (four games). It's safe to say that the Pirates outfielder's stats will be looking a tad better after tonight.

Oneil Cruz looking to bounce back for Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz (15) catches a pop fly by New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (not pictured) during the second inning at Citi Field.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Cruz's pop is helpful for the Pirates, especially for a centerfielder who can also play shortstop, and this had led to the team giving him as much playing time as he can handle.

However, Cruz is a bit feast or famine on the plate; in 2025, he did hit 20 home runs and tally 61 runs batted in, but he had an OPS of .676 and he barely hit over the Mendoza line, thanks to an unsightly strikeout rate of 32 percent.

Cruz has to go back and hit like he did back in 2024, and games like the one he had on Tuesday should only help.