Potent quotables: 'I lost it' - MLB

“Once it went through the lights, I lost it. There’s
really nothing else you can do. I mean, it’s not like I took my eye off
of if. People were saying they’ve seen many, many balls lost here. It’s
not the first. It’s not going to be the last.”

– The Metrodome isn’t going away without a fight, and neither are the Twins. Don Kelly lost an Orlando Cabrera flyball in the lights
during the seventh inning of Saturday’s game. Due to the misplay,
Denard Span was able to advance to third base and Cabrera reached
second. Both runners came in to score on a Jason Kubel single, as the
Twins cut the Tigers lead to two games with a dramatic 6-2 win.

”I felt two hits. One was me catching it, and the second one was me
hitting the fence. And I knew when I looked up after I hit
the fence and didn’t see the ball, it was going to be bad.”

– In a play that is sure to be included on blooper reels between innings at baseball stadiums from now until the end of time, Bobby Scales gave Brendan Ryan an assist on his fifth-inning home run on Saturday afternoon.

”I see why he won a Cy Young. I like the attitude he has. He’ll help
this club. The people playing behind him better be ready. Guys should
learn from him. He prepares himself and expects his teammates to do it.
You have to prepare and back him up.”

– Ozzie Guillen reflects on Jake Peavy’s successful debut
against the Royals on Saturday night. Peavy allowed three runs over
five innings while walking two and striking out five in a 13-3 victory.

“That’s just a number. If you didn’t tell me today, I
wouldn’t realize. I would just go home, try to get some sleep and a
muscle relaxer, and forget about it. To lose 100 games in the big leagues is a great honor, to be honest.
Many people don’t have the opportunity to lose three games, two games,
or maybe none. I’m a very blessed man.”

– Pedro Martinez, upon learning that he took his 100th career loss
against the Braves on Saturday night. He gave the first-place Phillies
a bit of a scare when he tweaked his neck during an at-bat in the second inning, leaving after just three innings, but he should be on track for his next start.

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz slowly made his way on crutches across the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse on Saturday toward a locker replete with a massive walking boot that the towering shortstop still uses to protect the left ankle he broke during an awkward slide home in early April.

The days when he’ll need to rely on the crutches are numbered. Ditto for the walking boot. The 24-year-old’s recovery remains on track, meaning he could return sometime late this summer barring any setbacks.

Given the way Cruz’s left leg rolled up underneath him as he collided with Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala in the sixth inning of what became a 1-0 victory, Cruz will take it. He had surgery the next day and the team optimistically said it expected him to miss four months, a timeline it has not deviated from as his rehab reaches the halfway point.

“You never want to get hurt, obviously, but that’s part of the game and it happens to me,” Cruz said through a translator. “I’m just going to take it the way it is and get better as soon as possible.”

The Pirates have found a way to remain in contention in the NL Central even without their leadoff hitter and one of the more physically intriguing young players in the majors, one prone to testing the limits of StatCast. Pittsburgh entered play on Saturday at 29-27, a half-game back of Milwaukee for first place in a division where no one has been able to run away and hide.

The club has used a handful of players at short to fill in for Cruz, from Rodolfo Castro to Tucupita Marcano to Ji Hwan Bae to Chris Owings. None of them possess Cruz’s unique mix of size, power and speed. Yet they’ve been solid enough to help soften what could have been a devastating early blow to a club that is trying to climb back into relevance following consecutive 100-loss seasons.

Cruz has leaned on his wife and his children to help ease the mental sting of the first major injury of his still-young career. Watching longtime teammates Castro and Marcano – who came up through the minors with Cruz – have some level of success has helped. The duo is hitting a combined .264 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs.

“Every time I see them doing well, it makes me happy,” Cruz said.

Still, they understand they are placeholders for Cruz, who was poised to take a significant step forward following a tantalizing rookie season in which both highlights that quickly went viral on social media – and strikeouts – were plentiful. He worked seven walks in his nine games of the season, showing the kind of patience at the plate that was difficult to come by in 2022.

Cruz believes he is poised to come back stronger than he was when he went down, and the Pirates have been adamant that the hope is he returns this season no matter where the team is in the standings whenever he comes off the 60-day injured list.

While he’s eager to get back he’s also not trying to force things, saying several times he will stick to the recommendations of the medical staff. He has remained engaged, not missing a game of Pittsburgh’s somewhat uneven – the Pirates started on a 20-8 tear followed by an 8-18 skid through May – but overall promising start.

There are also no concerns – at least at this point – about any sort of lingering memories of the slide that derailed his season haunting him during his rehab.

“I should be good when I get out there because when I go out there I understand I’m not going to hesitate,” Cruz said. “I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”

Cruz’s appearance at PNC on Saturday coincided with the team giving out thousands of bobbleheads in his likeness.

Asked if the trinkets bear at least a passing resemblance to him, Cruz laughed.

“They did real good,” he joked. “Ugly, like me.”