SI

Elly De La Cruz Had the Coolest First Inning of MLB Season, and Fans Loved It

Andy Nesbitt

Elly De La Cruz had one heck of a first inning in the Reds' 12-5 win over the Astros on Wednesday night.
Elly De La Cruz had one heck of a first inning in the Reds' 12-5 win over the Astros on Wednesday night. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
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Elly De La Cruz is so ridiculously fun to watch play baseball because he can truly do it all. He can mash jaw-dropping home runs. He can make cool plays in the field. And he can steal bases like nobody else.

Just when you're thinking you've seen it all from the 22-year-old shortstop, he goes out and does something even more mind-boggling. If you need more proof of that look at what he did Wednesday night against the Astros—he had two hits, two RBI, scored two runs, and stole a base. That doesn't sound all that wild until you realize one thing—he did that all in the first inning.

For real:

That's just incredible.

Fans rightfully loved it:

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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