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The Pittsburgh Pirates may have already lost so much pace in the postseason race, but they are still technically in the dogfight for the Wild Card spot in the NL after taking a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Runs were hard to come by for both teams on the night, but Oneil Cruz had no trouble putting lumber on ball at all. Not only did he drive in both of the Pirates' runs on the night, he also put on quite a show on the plate — going 3-4 (outhitting the entire White Sox squad in the process) with a home run as well. That home run, in fact, was the hardest-hit long ball of the season, according to Jesse Rogers of MLB.com — exiting the park at 117.4 miles per hour, which allowed the ball to travel 467 feet from home plate. Cruz, in a 1-1 count against White Sox starter Erick Fedde, sat on an 88-mph changeup and was all over that meatball of a pitch. Fedde even knew it the moment the Pirates slugger made contact, as he turned to look to the outfield in disappointment that he served up a delicious meatball for Cruz to knock out of the park. The White Sox outfielders didn't even bother moving. An Oneil Cruz MISSILE gets the @Pirates on the board 😱 pic.twitter.com/scn0NbGu5Y — MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2026 Cruz's raw power is incredible, and his brilliance at the plate was in full display on Thursday. He essentially earned this win for the Pirates, moving them to 74-73 on the campaign. Of course, the Pirates' pitching staff deserves plenty of credit as well for shutting out the White Sox. Jared Jones, who's had plenty of ups and downs in 2026, threw seven innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out eight. Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery then shut the door off the bullpen. On the season, Cruz is slashing .276/.362/.486 to go with 18 home runs and 62 runs batted in in 84 games.