Oneil fractures ankle on collision, benches clear around him

Oneil Cruz, one of Pittsburgh’s foundational players with an unparalleled skill set, suffered a fractured left ankle after crashing into White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, a collision that resulted in tempers flaring and the benches clearing. Per manager Derek Shelton, Cruz is still being evaluated.

“It hurts a lot because he’s like my brother,” Rodolfo Castro said through team interpreter Stephen Morales. “It hurts the team, too. We all feel the pain.”

The injury occurred in the bottom of the sixth when Cruz attempted to score from third on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ weakly hit grounder right at Chicago’s Yoán Moncada. Cruz hustled down the line but didn’t begin to slide until he was several feet from home, causing him to awkwardly barrel into Zavala, who leapt to grab Moncada’s throw and tried to maintain a sliding lane. Cruz’s left leg bent awkwardly as he fell to the ground, and he instantly writhed in pain.

Despite Cruz being in obvious pain, Zavala yelled at Cruz as he rolled on the dirt, unable to move his left leg. Carlos Santana took exception and yelled at Zavala. The two approached one another, and Santana shoved Zavala in his chest protector, causing the benches and bullpens to clear. Santana and Zavala were quickly separated from one another, with White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn wrapping Zavala in a hug and leading him away from the crowd. No players were ejected as a result of the altercation.

“[Cruz] wasn’t trying to hit [Zavala] on purpose,” Santana said. “It was a quick play. Everything was fast. I don’t like how [Zavala] screamed at [Cruz] when he got hurt. For me, I had to support my teammate.”