Elly De La Cruz Shows Off Impressive Reaction Time With Cool Game-Ending Double Play

An All-Star play from the All-Star shortstop.

Elly De La Cruz showed off multiple skills in helping the Reds beat the Pirates. / Reds-Pirates broadcas

The Reds entered the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night locked in a tight battle with the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, Cincinnati had the powers of Elly De La Cruz to lean on.

With the Reds up 2-1, the Pirates got a man on first, and Nick Gonzales came up to bat with one out. On a 2-2 count, he absolutely mashed a liner— right at De La Cruz, playing deep at the shortstop position. Without wasting even a second, EDLC then rifled a one-hop throw to first for the force-out that ended the game.

It was a very cool play that required remarkable reaction time and De La Cruz was all too happy to show off his.

Elly De La Cruz snags the liner and chucks a ball 91 MPH to first for the double play and the win! pic.twitter.com/bDvAVCnHaa

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 10, 2025

That is a hard throw to make it to first on a bounce before the runner does. De La Cruz has done it again.

The win marks the Reds' 61st of the season, and it was arguably the most exciting ending yet.

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