Elly De La Cruz talks Reds’ win over Yankees
Cincinnati Reds SS Elly De La Cruz upstaged Aaron Judge and the Yankees for the second year in a row, going 3-for-4 with a HR, 3B in Monday’s opener.
Elly De La Cruz has never shied away from a big stage. The Cincinnati Reds’ series opener against the New York Yankees was no different.
On June 24 at Great American Ball Park, there were multiple pregame news conferences regarding the comings and goings of other Reds. Cincinnati was also abuzz for a visit from the defending American League champion and current AL East-leading Yankees.
By game’s end, De La Cruz’s name was the name that mattered most on the day.
A double shy of a cycle, De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored and no strikeouts as the Reds downed the Yankees, 6-1. The performance underscored De La Cruz’s hot June offensively, and what should be an eventual march to Atlanta for the MLB All-Star Game in mid-July.
(By the way, De La Cruz overtook Phillies shortstop Trea Turner in the latest All-Star Game vote tally).
“I like that I’m being more patient,” De La Cruz said, “looking for my pitch.”
The Yankees’ Aaron Judge kicked the game off with a solo home run in the first inning to left field that traveled just shy of 400 feet. De La Cruz outshone Judge with an RBI triple in the fourth inning, a bases-loaded single in the fifth inning, and a solo home run to right field that put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth.
No one can argue with Judge’s list of career achievements, but he’s also been upstaged by De La Cruz several times, too.
The Reds beat the Yankees for the fourth game in a row dating back to a sweep at Yankee Stadium July 2-4, 2024. De La Cruz went 3-for-12 with two RBI in the series, including a homer and a triple in the series finale. Judge went 3-for-11 with a solo homer in the finale.
The four-game winning streak against the Yankees marked the first time Cincinnati had done that since the 1976 World Series.
“I think he gets up for every game,” Reds second baseman Matt McLain said. “I think there’s more eyes on these games so maybe it kind of seems like that, but he plays the way that he plays all the time and I think that’s one thing that’s so cool about him. It’s just him.
“He plays hard all the time. It really doesn’t matter (the opponent). Maybe there’s just more eyes on this game, but he definitely likes the moment.”
For the month, De La Cruz was hitting .333 with .422 on-base and .750 slugging percentages.
June has yielded seven home runs, five doubles, and two triples in his last three games as of Monday. His 11 walks are cast against 15 strikeouts, which are down from past months, and he has 15 RBI.
“I actually love it,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “When he’s dirty, we’re good. He can puke on the field all he wants.”