Elly De La Cruz becomes the youngest player to hit for the cycle since 1972 as Reds win 12 straight
Elly De La Cruz etches his name in the record books becoming the youngest player to hit a cycle since 1972 as the Reds win 12 straight for the first time in 66 years!
- De La Cruz is the seventh Reds player to hit for the cycle and the first since 1989
- He accomplished the feat of a career-high 15 games, the third fastest since 1900
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Something magical is happening in Cincinnati and it’s thanks in part to the bat of Reds hot rookie Elly De La Cruz.
On Friday night, De La Cruz batted for the cycle – a major achievement in itself. But the fact that he did this in just his 15th major league game requires further investigation.
De La Cruz started his night against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning with a double. In the next inning, he hit a two-run home run to right-center to cut Cincinnati to within one run of the Braves’ 5–4 lead.
An RBI single to the middle came in the fifth inning – meaning he only needed a triple in his next at bat.
In the sixth inning, he did just that: hit a perfect pitch into the hole in right centerfield and ran around the bases as the ball hit the wall. De La Cruz beat the throw of capping man Ozzie Albies by miles as he reached third base with ease.
Elly De La Cruz batted for the cycle, becoming the first Reds player to do so since 1989
In doing so, De La Cruz added his name to a number of team and major league records.
He became the first Cincinnati Reds player to bat for the cycle since Eric Davis in 1989—becoming only the seventh member of the Reds to accomplish the feat.
In addition, the rookie is the youngest player to bat for the cycle since 1972. In addition, with only 15 games in his career, it is the third-shortest stint for a cycle in the major leagues since 1900.
In addition, according to Opta Stats, De La Cruz is the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit for the cycle, steal a base and collect more than four runs.
He did all of that in the sixth inning of the game.
But it wasn’t over for the Reds – not even because of that great performance from De La Cruz. The triple drove Jonathan into India to make it an 11-7 lead for Cincinnati.
However, in the top of the eighth inning, Reds pitcher Lucas Sims gave up three solo home runs within four at bats to make it an 11–10 ball game, as Cincinnati’s lead was cut to just one.
But the Reds held on, giving up no more points and winning their 12th consecutive game.
With this move to third base, De La Cruz completed his cycle with an excellent triple
He also drove in four points to help the Reds win 12 straight for the first time since 1957
That’s also a franchise milestone as this becomes the first Reds team to record 12 consecutive wins in a season in 66 years.
That feat was last accomplished by the 1957 Reds team, a team that incidentally boasted All-Star outfielder Gus Bell – the grandfather of the Reds’ current manager David Bell.
With this win, the Reds now lead the NL Central by a game and a half over the Milwaukee Brewers.
If they keep this up, they will win the division for the first time since 2012 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.