Terry Francona Blown Away by Elly De La Cruz, Names Most Impressive Thing From Career Night

It only took four games for new Reds manager Terry Francona to be wowed by superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

De La Cruz went 4-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBIs in Monday's win against the Texas Rangers.

"Yeah, I know I am on the late show with that," Francona said postgame when asked if he marveled at De La Cruz's performance. "What I told him was the most impressive thing was the line drive to left field. When he does that, that means he's on balance. You better make some pretty good pitches when he's on balance like that."

On Opening Day, De La Cruz saw 22 pitches and did not swing at a single pitch out of the strike zone.

"When he hits the ball the other way with authority, it means you're covering the plate. You're probably going to lay off pitches that are in off the plate," Francona said. "It just makes you more dangerous. He always plays with energy and enthusiasm. That's a given."

When asked if he knew De La Cruz was a triple away from the cycle going into his last at-bat, Francona chuckled.

"Yeah, I was watching the game," he said with a smile.

You never know what might happen when watching De La Cruz play in a baseball game. Francona got to witness that on Monday night.

Check out our takeaways from the Reds' 14-3 win over the Rangers here.

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