Those two plays on back-to-back pitches brought in four runs and helped end right-handed starter Paul Skenes’ outing before the end of the first inning, his shortest start<\/a> of his brilliant, young career.<\/p>\n It was a tough day for Cruz at the plate, aside from a bloop single to leadoff the game, as he finished 1-for-5, although he did work some long at-bats and didn’t make mistakes in center field in the remainder of the 11-7 defeat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cruz could get a chance on later in this game vs. the Mets, but his absence is a big move for Pirates manager Don Kelly this early in the season.<\/p>\n How the Rest of the Pirates Lineup Shapes Up<\/p>\n Name<\/p>\n Position<\/p>\n Batting Side<\/p>\n Jared Triolo<\/p>\n Shortstop <\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n Ryan O’Hearn <\/p>\n First Base<\/p>\n Left<\/p>\n Bryan Reynolds<\/p>\n Left Field<\/p>\n Switch<\/p>\n Marcell Ozuna <\/p>\n Designated Hitter<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n Nick Gonzales<\/p>\n Third Base<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n Brandon Lowe<\/p>\n Second Base<\/p>\n Left<\/p>\n Nick Yorke<\/p>\n Right Field<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n Joey Bart<\/p>\n Catcher<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n Jake Mangum<\/p>\n Center Field<\/p>\n Switch<\/p>\n The Pirates made big changes to the lineup, as they face Mets left-handed pitcher David Peterson, with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m.<\/p>\n Mangum starting over Cruz may be because the former is a switch-hitter and the latter bats left-handed. Mangum slashed .279\/.309\/.341 for an OPS of .650 vs. left-handed pitchers in 2025, while Cruz struggled massively against southpaws, slashing .102\/.224\/.176 for an OPS of .400, with 11 hits in 108 at-bats.<\/p>\n Cruz put work in during Spring Training against left-handed pitching, but Kelly has also sat him against southpaws before.<\/p>\n Other changes see Joey Bart come in for Henry Davis at catcher, who he will work with right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller, who makes his first start of the season. Bart will also hit eight in the lineup.<\/p>\n Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Ryan O’Hearn moves back to his traditional first base role in place of Spencer Horwitz, hitting second, and Nick Yorke makes his first start of the campaign, coming in place of O’Hearn in right field and batting seventh.<\/p>\n Horwitz, a lefty hitter has struggled against left-handed pitching as well, slashing .186\/.314\/.279 for an OPS of .593 in 2025, while O’Hearn, also\ta left hitter, did much better against southpaws, slashing .278\/.358\/.474 for an OPS of .832 last season.<\/p>\n Bryan Reynolds stays in left field and third in the lineup, rounding out the outfield, and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna sticks at fourth in the batting order. <\/p>\n The Pirates infield stays mostly the same, but the batting order differs. Shortstop Jared Triolo will hit leadoff after batting sixth on Opening Day, third baseman Nick Gonzales hits fifth instead of eighth and second baseman Brandon Lowe moves down from second to sixth <\/p>\n Lowe is coming off an historic<\/a> Opening Day, as he hit two home runs<\/a> for the Pirates in his first two plate appearances and will look to continue his power tear again vs. the Mets. <\/p>\n![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01kmtmjj2dqbevnfmsdn.jpg\" "\\"Pittsburgh")
<\/p>\n