Elly De La Cruz joins exclusive club of Marlins killers

[Kevin Barral]

Elly De La Cruz had a historic night in Miami, joining the likes of Rickey Henderson and Jose Altuve.

MIAMI, FL—The last time Elly De La Cruz faced the Miami Marlins, it was at Great American Ball Park right before the All-Star break. The switch-hitting shortstop was in All-Star form, going 5-for-13 with two home runs and three RBI. On Monday night, facing the Fish as a visitor one month later, De La Cruz made himself at home against Miami pitching by putting up two homers and two doubles in a 10-3 Reds win.

De La Cruz is the first Marlins opponent to record four extra-base hits since Jose Altuve accomplished that feat in 2017. The exclusive club also includes Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.

 

Following the game, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker praised the young superstar.

"The game is in a really good spot with Elly, Oneil Cruz and Gunnar Henderson," said Schumaker. "There's some really big-time young shortstops in the game that are fun to watch. I typically don't give too much credit to guys on the other side, but he had some incredible at-bats today. He's a special player and he's going to be a lot of fun to watch throughout the next however long."

De La Cruz also joined Eric Davis and Joe Morgan as the only players in Reds franchise history to hit 20 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.

The 22-year-old wasn't aware of what he had done when asked after the game.

His response when he found out from a reporter? "Nice," and followed it with plenty of laughs. De La Cruz is the second player in Reds history to have two doubles and two homers in a game.

"I feel great," said De La Cruz. "I feel grateful to God."

The Reds still have 50 games left in their regular season. When asked how much higher he can raise his numbers, De La Cruz's response was simple: "As long as I go out on the field every day, I can do whatever I want."

Through seven career games against the Marlins, De La Cruz has slashed .379/.419/.897/1.316 with four home runs and six RBI.

Max Meyer will take the mound on Tuesday night against the lefty Nick Lodolo. De La Cruz is batting in the number two spot of Cincinnati's lineup.

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