CINCINNATI — Eric Davis is no longer the answer to at least one trivia question. Before Friday, it was Davis who owned the last cycle by a Cincinnati Red — a single, double, triple and home run in one game — on June 2, 1989.
On June 23, 2023, Elly De La Cruz became the first Red since Davis to hit for the cycle and the first Red to hit for the cycle at Great American Ball Park.
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“It’s about time,” Davis said via text message Friday.
Not only that, but De La Cruz is just the second Red to hit for the cycle since Frank Robinson did it on May 2, 1959.
De La Cruz also drove in four runs as the Reds beat the Braves 11-10 to extend their winning streak to 12 games, the most by a Reds team since 1957 and tied for the longest by any Reds team since 1900.
In summation, this year’s Reds team has done at least two things the Big Red Machine never did: win 12 games in a row and have a player hit for the cycle.
“This is the most enjoyable version of baseball I think I’ve ever seen,” said Joey Votto, who hit two homers Friday and was maybe the fourth storyline after De La Cruz’s cycle, the winning streak and coming back from a 5-0 deficit against the National League’s best team. “I’m hitting sixth on the team happily because I get to watch what’s going on in front of me. I’m not in the way. I get to watch these guys zoom around the bases, take the extra base.”
Votto is a franchise player, a future Hall of Famer who has played with only one team in his career. He debuted in 2007 and is maybe the most respected student of the game in his generation, not to mention the best interview. But even Votto seemed to grasp for words when talking about De La Cruz.
“Has there been a better switch-hitting, speed, power guy? The only comp I can think of is Mickey Mantle — a young Mickey Mantle,” Votto said. “That’s unfair to put on Elly, maybe one of the greatest players of all time. Elly has got plenty of time to entertain the fans. He hit a ball off the wall today as hard as I’ve seen anybody hit a ball. Then he’s trying to score on a pick, and he almost did. You had to get a perfect throw from a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman.
“There’s no comparison. I’ve got nobody to compare him to. There’s no precedent that I’ve seen in my experience. How lucky are we in Cincinnati to have him? He, like every player, is going to go through stretches where he has to adjust and refine his game. But just the core of it, the base of what he has, it’s out of this world.”
ELLY DE LA CRUZ THAT IS ALL pic.twitter.com/JYXLDvJw06
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 23, 2023
Reds manager David Bell knew from the first pitch of the second inning that it could be a special night. It wasn’t anything anyone else in the park may have marveled at, or even remembered three hours later, but it was enough for Bell to see. De La Cruz fouled AJ Smith-Shawver’s 94 mph fastball back to the screen behind home plate in the bottom of the second with the Reds already down 5-0. The next pitch was another fastball, this one a little lower, and this swing connected flush with the ball.
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“The first ball he hit is one of the hardest balls I’ve ever seen hit,” Bell said. “From the very first swing he took — I think it was a foul ball, straight back — you could tell it was going to be a great night.”
De La Cruz’s double was measured at 116.6 mph off the bat. That exit velocity has been bested this season by only seven players. His maximum exit velocity in Triple A was 118.8 mph, better than any batted ball in the big leagues this year. The only thing that kept it from being a home run was the 16-degree launch angle. It wasn’t high enough to clear the fence — maybe hard enough to go through it — and landed with a thud that could be heard throughout the park as De La Cruz cruised into second.
“I noticed that they threw it into someone in the middle infield, and they didn’t even turn it around. They just threw it to third,” teammate Spencer Steer said. “They were just like, ‘Don’t let him get to third.’ I think other teams’ defenses recognize how fast he is and what he can do on the bases. They’re thinking about the bases in front of the one he’s already going to. He’s only been up for two weeks. It’s incredible.”
Jake Fraley followed with a home run, cutting into the Braves’ lead. In the next inning, De La Cruz hit a two-out, two-run homer to make it 5-4.
Votto tied it at 5 in the fourth with his second homer in just his fourth game back from last August’s shoulder surgery.
After the Braves scored two in the top of the fifth to take back the lead, De La Cruz got a broken-bat single in the next inning, plating a run. After he stole second, representing the go-ahead run, Votto hit his second homer of the game to give the Reds a 9-7 lead.
With two on and two out in the sixth, De La Cruz completed the cycle, lacing a ball to right-center. It was unlikely to be a triple for nearly anyone else, but De La Cruz dove in head-first well ahead of the throw. There was no doubt off the bat that De La Cruz would reach third because of his speed and the fact it looked like he was thinking “triple” on any ball that stayed in the park.
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“The kid’s an unbelievable talent,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Holy cow. I mean, that’s just everything. The power, speed. Slows the game down at third — it looks like that. Yeah, that’s a really nice talent right there that they got. Holy cow.”
Even with the loss, the Braves (48-27) still own the best record in the National League. The 2021 World Series champions have looked as good as their record all season, yet the Reds, aided by their oldest player (the 39-year-old Votto) and their youngest player (the 21-year-old De La Cruz), overcame two Braves leads and also secured a late-game comeback with three solo homers in the eighth to pull within one before Alexis Díaz nailed down his 21st save of the season.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Reds second baseman Jonathan India of the early deficits. “We’re not afraid of anyone.”
The Braves likely aren’t shaking in their boots thinking about the Reds, either, but they were duly impressed, especially with De La Cruz.
“Incredible. Tremendous ballplayer,” Ronald Acuña Jr. said of De La Cruz, according to interpreter Franco García. “I feel like I was lucky enough to see him kind of work his way up. He was a star even when he was playing in the Dominican winter league. Just absolutely incredible.”
Acuña is on the short list of the game’s most talented players. De La Cruz is getting there.
“I’m telling you, Elly De La Cruz will be the best baseball player in MLB in the future. He could even be it right now,” India said. “That kid is something special. He’s going to do a lot in this game. He’s a humble kid — that’s what’s so special about him. He’s a great teammate, and he’s a winner. You get that mixture of talent and competitiveness. It’s a scary sight for the league.”
De La Cruz stole his seventh base of the season (in his 15th game), but he also got caught stealing for the first time. He was gunned down at home by Braves first baseman Matt Olson after reliever Kirby Yates tried to pick off Fraley at first.
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“The play where he tried to steal home, like, he’s going to learn from that,” Bell said. “It was a great play if he makes it. I think he’s probably done it before. Maybe he just picked on the wrong guy tonight; he’s a good first baseman. The game will teach you what you need to learn. He’ll learn from it. We cannot ever take his aggressiveness or his freedom to play the game away or the joy that he plays with.”
De La Cruz carries himself with a confidence and swagger that’s equal to his talent. His teammates aren’t so bad, either. The Reds recorded their 27th come-from-behind win of the season and improved to 41-35.
“We never give up. We never fall down. And if we do, we pick ourselves back up,” De La Cruz said, according to interpreter Jorge Merlos. “I mean, it’s how this team plays. Sure, we might be facing the best team in the league, but we know we’re better. So we’re going to win regardless.”
(Top photo of Elly De La Cruz breaking his bat while hitting a single against the Braves: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)