Elly De La Cruz stole every base to score and give the Cincinnati Reds a 7-5 lead against the Milwaukee Brewers early in the seventh inning on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:
- De La Cruz stole second base, third base and home plate, becoming the first Reds player since Greasy Neale in 1919 to stole all three in the same inning.
- In 29 games played this season, De La Cruz has 40 hits, four homers and 16 stolen bases.
- The Reds defeated the Brewers 8-5. Cincinnati is now 50-40 in first place in the National League Central.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How it happened
On the one hand, it has to be credited to Elvis Peguero, who managed to do something no one else seems to have been able to do – take their eyes off De La Cruz. On the other hand, the Brewers stand-in turned his back after De La Cruz snatched third place, and the Reds’ rookie sensation took advantage by going home and giving the Reds a two-run lead, only three pitches after giving the team the lead with an RBI singles. – Rosecrans
The Cincinnati sensation
Since debuting on June 6, De La Cruz has been baseball’s most exciting player. It almost seems like an exaggeration at this point, but the 21-year-old shortstop/third baseman, who hits switches, has taken the game by storm. He hit his first home run in his second game, going to the back row at Great American Ball Park, nearly 500 feet away. He also scored the treble in that game. In his 15th game in the major leagues, he scored for the side for the first time since 1989.
In that game, in which he scored the deciding goal against the Braves on June 23, De La Cruz tried to get home but failed. However, this time he was successful.
De La Cruz has several infield singles, including at least two hits for the first baseman, as well as four home runs and now has 16 steals this season. He has played 12 of 22 games in his last five games, including two against the Brewers on Saturday.
The Reds have been 22-7 since De La Cruz’s call-up. The Reds were third in the NL Central when De La Cruz was called up, 5.5 games behind the Pirates and 5 games behind the Brewers. With Saturday’s win, the Reds now sit 50-40 and two games ahead of the second-place Brewers and are guaranteed to go into the All-Star Break as the only division leaders in the division. – Rosecrans
What you say
Reds manager David Bell spoke to reporters after the game about De La Cruz’s stolen bases.
“The speed is obvious, isn’t it? Elite speed like maybe we’ve never seen before, but also how heads-up it was,” Bell said. “We saw it in the dugout, he rounded third base when he stole third base and that never happens, so we knew something was going to happen.”
“It was like he was on a mission to score.”
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(Photo: Katie Stratman / USA Today Sports)