WATCH: Pittsburgh Pirates rookie phenom Oneil Cruz ends New York Mets' star pitcher Jacob deGrom's dominant outing with three-run home run
New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom looked unbeatable through six innings, until Oneil Cruz stepped up to the plate. Cruz has been blasting home runs all season long for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and got the job done once again. This was the seventeenth home run of the season for Cruz, and it came at the perfect time.
Cruz has been one of the highlights of the Pirates' season, despite a cavalcade of losses. For the Mets, this is an almost must-win game as they attempt to maintain their National League East lead.
The Pirates did not hesitate to upload a clip of the home run, along with lofty praise, to Twitter.
Oneil Cruz - and we cannot stress this enough - is him. https://t.co/U4j55tDNHE
"Oneil Cruz - and we cannot stress this enough - is him" - Pittsburgh Pirates
This home run tied the game, giving the Pirates the chance to pull off an upset victory over the Mets. prior to this home run, deGrom was playing at an extremely high level.
This level of dominance was contextualized on Twitter by Talkin' Baseball.
13 Ks through 5 innings
deGrom is on another planet https://t.co/zd8t59Q9RM
"13 Ks through 5 innings deGrom is on another planet" - Talkin' Baseball
The list of players who can get a hit like this against deGrom is very small. When healthy, deGrom is one of the most dominant pitchers in the MLB and is a perennial Cy Young candidate. Paired with Max Scherzer, the New York Mets have one of the top pitching duos in the sport.
Jacob deGrom even managed to set a new MLB record during this start. This record shows the consistently high level that deGrom performs at. The MLB posted this new record for the star pitcher to Twitter.
13 Ks today and a new MLB record for Jacob deGrom. 👏 https://t.co/nde8cTWfO2
"13 Ks today and a new MLB record for Jacob deGrom" - MLB
Getting a home run off of him is a moment to be cherished and remembered. Despite his amazing performance, victory is not guaranteed for the Mets, thanks to Oneil Cruz.
Oneil Cruz proved that he is the real deal with this home run against Jacob deGrom
Cruz is a special player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and fans around the MLB are beginning to realize it. Getting the better of a pitcher as talented as Jacob deGrom is a great sign of Cruz's progress.
This highlight package from YouTube shows how great Cruz has been in 2022.
If Oneil Cruz continues to progress at the rate he has been, he will be an offensive threat for years to come.