Fastball

Cincinnati Reds' Electric Phenom Homers Again to Put Himself in Record Books

The Cincinnati Reds steamrolled the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, 8-1, to move to three games over .500 for the year. In the win, Elly De La Cruz continued to show his electric skillset, hitting another home run which put him in the record books.
Brady Farkas|
Apr 23, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) reacts after
Apr 23, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) reacts after | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds steamrolled the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, winning 8-1, at Great American Ball Park.

After getting swept by Seattle last week, the Reds have rebounded in a big way and are now 13-10 and three games over .500.

In the win on Tuesday, the Reds banged out nine hits with Santiago Espinal (3-for-4, two RBI) and Elly De La Cruz (2-for-3, two RBI), fueling the offense.

De La Cruz continues to shine this season, hitting .295 with seven homers (one on Tuesday), 12 stolen bases (one on Tuesday) and an OPS of 1.043.

He made his Major League debut in 2024 and showed a great physical skillset, but the rawness of talent led to some struggles. Thus far in 2024, he's shown a more refined skillset that has led him to produce more regularly. He's also put himself in the record books because of his power-speed combo.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

most games with at least 1 HR & SB, first 125 career games (since at least 1901):

Elly De La Cruz: 6 [today is game 121]
Ellis Burks: 6
Duke Kenworthy: 6

(the other 2 also had 6 thru 121g)

The Reds are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season and will be counting on De La Cruz and a slew of other young players to make that happen.

Ellis Burks was an 18-year veteran who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians. He was a two-time All-Star and a Gold Glover who hit 352 career home runs.

As for Duke Kenworthy? He played just for seasons in the big leagues (1912, 1914-15, 1917). He hit 18 career homers and stole 61 career bases. He played for the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Packers and St. Louis Browns.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published | Modified
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/News