Don’t mock Elly De La Cruz.
The sensational Cincinnati Reds rookie flew into deep midfield on his first batter against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. As he approached the plate for his second shot in the third inning, he was greeted with that salute by the Brewers’ home scoreboard operator.
“Elly De La Cruz: He almost hit a home run in the first inning…but he didn’t.”
On the very first batting attempt, De La Cruz did the following:
That’s a 456-foot home run that didn’t just go past the right midfield wall. It cleared the stands. The ball only landed when it hit the hall behind the midfield seats. This was done while the “Troll De La Cruz” message was still lit on the scoreboard.
Elly De La Cruz celebrates a two-run home run against the Brewers. (Jeff Hanisch/Portal)
Brewers starter Colin Rea’s two-run blast also scored catcher Tyler Stephenson and gave the Reds a 2-1 lead. It was De La Cruz’s sixth home run in 41 games since his draft in early June. It wasn’t the first direct goal for De La Cruz, who has developed a habit of hitting the ball very, very hard.
Early in Monday’s game, De La Cruz hit .273/.322/.447 with five home runs, 17 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He was one of the main reasons the Reds started the night half a game down on the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.
But the Brewers got the last laugh on Monday night. They ended up at the end of the ninth round with a 2-2 draw. Given the chance to end the game, Christian Yelich delivered. The former MVP hit an RBI single against Reds closer Alexis Díaz, who scored Blake Perkins from second base.
The walkoff single secured the Brewers a 3-2 win and put the Reds on a five-game winning streak. It also ensured they ended the evening with a 1½ game lead in the NL Central.