Bat flip for a spring walk-off? Why not!

BRADENTON, Fla. -- When Hunter Owen has had his name called, he’s made the most of the opportunity.

For the second straight game in which he’s played, Owen provided late-game heroics; that is, if “heroics” can apply to a Spring Training game with no bearing on the actual standings. After delivering a game-tying home run on Wednesday, Owen provided a walk-off home run to propel the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Twins on Friday at LECOM Park.

For Owen, every inning on the diamond stands as an audition to make his way back to Pittsburgh.

“I’m just trying to make the most of every opportunity I get whether it’s late in the game or I’m starting,” Owen said. “I think a lot of it goes back to how I finished last year at [Triple-A] Indianapolis, as far as my approach at the plate and staying convicted to that, so I think I’ve done a good job of that recently.”

Owen steadily climbed through the Pirates' system after being drafted in the 25th round of the 2016 Draft out of Indiana State, sipping on a brief cup of coffee in May. He had five plate appearances last season, but didn’t reach base. He wouldn’t play with the Pirates the rest of the season.

The 28-year-old had 20 homers last season for Triple-A Indianapolis, but with a wRC+ of 98, he graded out as below league average. Should Owen make the necessary adjustments in the Minors, there’s the possibility that he’ll be able to crank one in a game of meaning.

"I'm happy for Hunter Owen,” said manager Derek Shelton. “That's two homers in the last two games that he's played. Took a good swing and I think you're happy for the kid that he took a good swing."

With Owen’s walk-off coming in a Spring Training game, the sequence that followed was a tad awkward, if not mildly hilarious.

Owen rounded the bases as if it was a standard home run. Some fans celebrated as if the Pirates had walked it off at PNC Park. Other fans provided golf claps. A small contingent of players greeted Owen as he crossed home plate, but the typical accoutrement of a 10-gallon Gatorade jug or spraying water bottles was missing. Heck, a large chunk of the roster was missing, having departed following their playing time. The comedy lay in the endeavor’s clunkiness.

Oneil Cruz debuts in left field
Earlier in the week, Shelton indicated that Oneil Cruz would see time in the outfield this spring. On Friday, the Pirates got a glimpse of Cruz outside the realm of shortstop as he started in left field.

Cruz was challenged early as he had to track down a fly ball at the warning track off the bat of Ryan Jeffers, one that he managed to easily corral. A couple batters later, though, Cruz took a funky route on a weakly hit fly ball off the bat of Jake Cave that dropped in for an RBI single. With Cruz’s speed and length, he likely would’ve been able to catch it with a more straight-line path to the ball.

Cruz, the Pirates’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, said he began doing work in the outfield three to four days ago. Prior to that, his defensive work exclusively was at shortstop. While he has previously indicated that he wants to play shortstop, he wants to consistently be in the lineup just as much.

“Anywhere they put me, I'm ready to play,” Cruz said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “I do prefer a little bit more of left field [compared to center field], but anywhere that they put me, I'll be more than willing to play. I just want to play.”

Cruz’s adventures on defense were the most notable part of his afternoon, but he proved again why he’s a Statcast darling, ripping a 113.4 mph ground ball up the middle that Twins shortstop Austin Martin couldn’t handle. Martin was assessed an error as Cruz beat out the throw, but given the ball’s pure velocity, the infielder is a bit worthy of a mulligan.

"I think that any time guys hit the ball that hard, it always stands out,” Shelton said. “He's continued to take good swings and have consistent at-bats. When he hits the ball, he hits the ball hard."