Global Courant
Cincinnati Reds third baseman Elly De La Cruz has been active in the big leagues for less than three weeks, but he is already taking the baseball world by storm.
The Reds called up De La Cruz, the third-ranked prospect in the majors, on June 6, and in his first game, he got his first hit coming off the bat at 110 mph. A night later, he hit a 458-foot home run, the first of his big league career.
Two-and-a-half weeks later, he batted for the cycle – and he did it in just six innings of work.
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Cincinnati Reds third baseman Elly De La Cruz celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Friday. (Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK)
In his first at bat against the Atlanta Braves on Friday-evening, De La Cruz doubled. In the next inning, he launched a two-run home run to narrow the Reds’ deficit to 5–4.
In the fifth inning, he got the easy one out of the way by hitting a single that also led to a run.
The chances of De La Cruz getting back up were pretty good, but he didn’t want to lose any time.
Jake Fraley, left, and Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate after Fraley hit a home run in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Friday. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Needing the hardest of the four for the cycle, he drove a switch to the right center field hole. Not only was it his fourth RBI of the night, but he didn’t slow down for anything.
Midfielder Michael Harris II played it off the wall, but De La Cruz slipped safely into third.
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It was the first cycle by a Red since Eric Davis accomplished it in 1989, and De La Cruz is the youngest player (21 years, 163 days) to bat for the cycle since César Cedeño in 1972.
During spring training, the Reds were an afterthought. Now they lead the National League Central and tie a franchise record with a 12th consecutive win on Friday.
Once the cycle was complete, De La Cruz increased his batting average to .367 and his OPS to 1.091.
Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds hits a double in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Friday. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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It was the third cycle in the MLB this year – Florida Marlin’s Luis Arraez (who bats .402) and Balitmore Orioles’ Cedric Mullins also accomplished the feat earlier in the season.
