In Photos: Pirates SS Oneil Cruz's custom cleats pay homage to MLB's 'The Machine,' Albert Pujols
Oneil Cruz's Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals played the second match of their three-game divisional series yesterday with the latter triumphing with a score of 4-2. However, the matchup was more than just a game for Cruz.
The young shortstop, hailing from Nizao in the Dominican Republic, paid tribute to the country's most famous baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols. Cruz wore a custom Nike Air Jordan 1 cleat clad in the colors of the Cardinals, and listed Pujols' achievements along with his nickname "The Machine," also printed on the shoe.
Oneil Cruz finished the game with two base hits but the Pirates came up short against the Cardinals. Nonetheless, it was a touching tribute for Pujols who nearly has a mythical status in his home country, the Dominican Republic.
Oneil Cruz drives in run in Pirates' Game 1 win against Cardinals
Heading into the third game of the series today, the Pirates and Cardinals will tussle in the final match after they alternately took wins in the first two contests. On Tuesday, the Pirates took a close 2-1 victory on the road before the Cardinals answered back by winning with a score of 4-2 on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Pirates prospect Paul Skenes had an intense duel with St. Louis Cardinals' two-time all-star Miles Mikolas on the mound. Both pitchers didn't surrender any runs and it took until the ninth inning for both the Pirates and the Cards to record a run in the scoreboard.
Leading 1-0 in the top of the ninth inning courtesy of a fielder's choice that brought Jack Suwinski to home plate, young shortstop Oneil Cruz took the plate against Cardinals' reliever Ryan Helsley.
Cruz would then hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Andrew McCutchen. Nolan Gorman would answer for the Cardinals in the ninth inning with a solo home run. However, it was all the offense that St. Louis could muster as the Pirates came away the victors with a score of 2-1.