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Cincinnati Reds Rookie Continues to Alter Franchise Record Books

Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz continues to make franchise history in his rookie season.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds Rookie Continues to Alter Franchise Record Books
Cincinnati Reds Rookie Continues to Alter Franchise Record Books /
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After falling victim to the Chicago Cubs historic offensive output the last two nights, Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz made his own history on Thursday.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Elly De La Cruz hit his 2nd leadoff HR this season. He joins Jay Bruce as the only Reds players, age 21 or younger, with multiple leadoff HR over the last 50 seasons.

The 21-year-old has ignited the Reds since being called up in mid-June. He's now hitting .273 with eight homers, 21 RBI and 17 stolen bases. One of the most "toolsy" players in all of baseball, De La Cruz is known for his prolific power and supreme athleticism.

He's not the only one of the young Reds to contribute this season. The team has seen real productivity out of Will Benson, Andrew Abbott, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Matt McLain and others.

Entering play on Thursday, the Reds were 0.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central. The Cubs entered play at 3.0 back so this game is critical in the division battle.

Cincinnati will begin a new series with the Washington Nationals on Friday night. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is set for 6:40 p.m. ET as Graham Ashcraft pitches against Patrick Corbin.

The Cubs will begin a challenging series on Friday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves, who are the best team in baseball.

First pitch in that game is set for 2:20 p.m. ET as Max Fried (ATL) pitches against Kyle Hendricks.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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