The Cincinnati Reds got to the final two weeks of the season still in the playoff hunt despite their biggest star, Elly De La Cruz, struggling for nearly all of the second half.
And then manager Terry Francona finally dropped him in the order for the first time this season, from third to seventh in the Cardinals series earlier this week, trying to take some of the pressure off. He hasn’t batted higher in the order than sixth since.
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Now it might be showing signs of paying off. With just enough time in the season for it to matter.
“If we can get him hot, boy, would that really give us a big lift,” Francona said after the Reds won for the fourth time in five games since that lineup shuffle.
De La Cruz makes no promises on whether anything he’s done since is a sign of what he might do in the Reds’ final eight games as they try to close a two-game gap on the playoff field.
Elly De La Cruz and designated hitter Miguel Andujar celebrate after the Reds’ third straight victory, 7-4 over the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park on Sept. 19.
“But I’ve been feeling really good lately,” he said. “We’ve got to just keep in mind this game’s all about mentality.”
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In those games since the move, he has drawn six walks. And on Sept. 19, he drove his first home run since July 31 the opposite way to snap the longest homerless drought of his career.
It’s added up to a .474 on-base percentage and .538 slugging percentage although it might be a small sample size.
But consider the .243 OBP and .291 slugging from Aug. 1 until that move down the batting order. He had 51 strikeouts and eight walks during those 39 games.
“I hope it takes the weight off his shoulders,” said teammate Spencer Steer, who has heated up the last few games, too, including a five-RBI game Wednesday and two home runs in Friday’s win over the Cubs — including the go-ahead, two-run shot just before De La Cruz made it back-to-back shots in the sixth.
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“He’s the heart of this team. He goes, we go,” Steer said. “It’s been a tough stretch for him. But I commend him for how he’s handled it. He’s the same guy every day. As a teammate and as a friend, that’s the thing you have to respect.”
De La Cruz has dealt with hamstring and quad issues this season and dealt with the loss of his sister May 31. He hasn’t missed a game.
Whether he’s found a window of space physically and mentally to thrive in late September, that good space might be an ideal moment for not only himself but a team he describes as “really close, everybody in the clubhouse.”
If he sheds the struggles of the last two months to have a big week to finish the season? If Friday was the start of something?
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“He’s a game changer,” Steer said. “He can take over a game. He can take over a series. He’s that kind of player. Hopefully, that gets him hot and he can kind of get it going the last couple games. Every time he does something good we’ve got a good chance to win.”
No guarantees. No promises.
“We’ve got to keep it going,” De La Cruz said. “Keep winning games and make things happen. We’ve got to make it happen.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What if Elly De La Cruz gets hot for Cincinnati Reds in final week?