Elly De La Cruz Comes Around to Score on Crazy Play, Makes Cincinnati Reds History
Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz continues to make both history and must-see highlight plays.
De La Cruz stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday with the Reds trailing 3-1. The shortstop very nearly hit a two-run home run, but his line drive hit the wall and bounced back into the field of play.
Right fielder Cavan Biggio misjudged the angle, though, and the ball careened right past his outstretched glove.
Both De La Cruz and Matt McLain – who started the play on first – turned on the jets. McLain came around to score, while De La Cruz legged out a triple.
De La Cruz wasn't done just yet, as Biggio's throw sailed over the cutoff man and past the backup. The rookie sensation decided to round third and go for home, diving in safely before popping up to celebrate with his teammates.
The play was ruled a triple with an error, rather than an inside-the-park home run, but De La Cruz still made team history on the play.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, De La Cruz made it home-to-home in 15.3 seconds. That is the fastest time recorded by a Reds batter in the Statcast era, which dates back to 2015.
Considering he came out of the batter's box slow and hesitated at third, it isn't crazy to think De La Cruz could break his own record at some point in the near future.
Billy Hamilton held the previous team record at 15.6 seconds, posting that mark back on May 19, 2017.
The rookie shortstop is now batting .261 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI, 19 stolen bases and a .776 OPS in 62 games this season.
De La Cruz's borderline inside-the-park home run may have tied the game at 3-3, but Toronto scored again in the top of the fifth to pull back ahead. The Blue Jays held on to win 4-3, avenging their 1-0 loss to the Reds on Friday.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled to start at 1:40 p.m. ET.
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