It’s almost impossible for the Pittsburgh Pirates to overshadow Paul Skenes when he’s pitching, but a throw by center fielder Oneil Cruz against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday earned a salute from Skenes.
Cruz made a perfectly placed one-hop throw to get J.P. Crawford out at home plate that was recorded at 105.2 mph — the hardest throw by a fielder in the major leagues this season, per Statcast — in the first inning of their series finale at T-Mobile Park.
Pirates manager Don Kelly was stunned to learn how hard Cruz threw the ball.
“105? I didn’t even realize,” Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “It was unbelievable. Honestly, one of the best plays that I’ve seen live, to be able to make that going that way, across the body and throw to home, as accurate as it was.”
Oneil Cruz just threw the runner out from center field at 105.2 mph ???? pic.twitter.com/bX8VwFRMHc
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 6, 2025
After a leadoff single by Crawford, Skenes hit MLB home runs leader Cal Raleigh with a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out for Jorge Polanco, who singled to shallow center.
Cruz made a perfectly placed throw that took a one-hop bounce into the glove of Pirates catcher Henry Davis, who was straddling home plate and tagged Crawford on the inner thigh before he could score.
The bang-bang play was so close that Davis checked his mitt to make sure he had the ball, then showed it to home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez, who called Crawford out. The Mariners challenged the call, arguing Davis was blocking the plate. But after a review, Jimenez announced the call stood because even though Davis was clearly straddling the plate, Crawford had a clear path to slide.
Paul Skenes thanking Oneil Cruz for that laser of a throw home ???????? pic.twitter.com/ik9VlAq3d9
— Hannah Mears (@mearshannah_) July 6, 2025
Skenes pointed to Cruz to celebrate the throw, then got Randy Arozarena to fly out to center to escape the inning unscathed. Skenes then thanked Cruz in the dugout for his run-saving throw.
“I had the best seat in the house. That was unbelievable,” said Skenes, who was backing up the play at the plate. “Henry played it perfectly, too. It feels lucky, but I know that Henry and Oneil kind of created luck for me there. Like I said last week, it’s just a game of catch and they did a really good job.”
