Pirates remove OF Cruz after losing track of outs

MILWAUKEE -- Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz said helium mislaid way of the outs erstwhile helium didn't tally retired a double-play grounder, a determination that led to his removal successful his club's 9-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers connected Tuesday night.

The Pirates trailed 7-3 and had a runner connected archetypal with 1 retired successful the seventh erstwhile Cruz grounded into a 6-4-3 treble play. Cruz slowed down aft the Brewers got the unit play astatine second, and helium said afterward helium believed that was the 3rd retired of the inning.

Pirates manager Don Kelly removed Cruz successful favour of a antiaircraft replacement successful the eighth inning and said it was owed to Cruz's "energy and effort going down the line." Cruz said aft the crippled helium understood Kelly's decision.

"DK had each the rights to bash what helium did, and I'll backmost him up connected that," Cruz said done an interpreter. "It was my responsibility due to the fact that I thought determination were 2 outs successful that situation. That's wherefore I fto disconnected moving to archetypal base."

Kelly said helium explained to Cruz the crushed for the benching.

"We talked," Kelly said. "He knows the expectation. Right there, I consciousness we fell a small short."

When helium was asked whether Cruz would beryllium backmost successful the starting lineup Wednesday, Kelly was noncommittal.

"We're going to beryllium down and talk, and we'll fig that out," Kelly said.

Cruz, 26, has batted conscionable .156 (12 of 77) with 31 strikeouts this period aft having a productive commencement to the play that included owning a .911 OPS successful aboriginal May and hitting a 122.9-mph homer against the Brewers connected May 25. That homer was the hardest-hit shot since Statcast started tracking that information successful 2015.

Cruz is present hitting .208 with a .321 on-base percentage, .404 slugging percentage, 13 homers, 31 RBIs and 26 steals successful 71 games.

"He's struggling astatine the sheet close now," Kelly said. "It's hard erstwhile you're going done that and trying to fig it out. He's moving hard to bash that. That's 1 happening we've got to beryllium mindful of, is not letting that discourtesy transportation implicit to defence and basal running, and the vigor and effort that we're giving connected immoderate different aspects of the crippled arsenic well."

Cruz said his hitting slump "had thing to bash with what happened today" and isn't impacting his absorption connected the basepaths oregon successful the field. But helium besides said helium appreciated Kelly's instructions to him and noted however helium tin larn from seasoned teammates Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham.

"They're a truly bully example," Cruz said. "They ever tally hard. They ever spell retired determination to bash their 100%. That's a teaching constituent for me. I accepted the mode DK came to maine and explained it and presented it to me."