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Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz Makes Statcast Era History with Big Game on Monday Night

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers in a wild series opener as Elly De La Cruz made some recent baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) reacts to scoring on a walk in the second inning of
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) reacts to scoring on a walk in the second inning of / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY
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The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-8, in a wild series-opening game on Monday night.

In the victory, Reds' standout Elly De La Cruz made some baseball history because of his performance.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

ELLY DE LA CRUZ IS THE FIRST PLAYER WITH A 450+ FT HOME RUN *AND* AN INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN IN THE SAME GAME UNDER STATCAST (2015)

h/t the wizard @jasonbernard_

That just shows the kind of freakish athleticism that De La Cruz has, where he can hit the ball that far AND run that fast.

In the win, he went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and two RBI. The Reds are now 6-4 on the season as they are seeking their first playoff berth since the COVID 2020 season.

For the young season, De La Cruz is hitting an impressive .297. Those were his first two home runs and he now has five RBI.

The lanky 22-year-old made his Major League debut last season and captivated baseball fans everywhere because of his athleticism, but as he looks to refine his skillset, there's clearly more in the tank. He hit .235 last season with 13 homers and 35 steals in just 98 games.

Will Benson also homered in the win and Graham Ashcraft got the win, going 5.2 innings on the mound with six strikeouts.

The two sides will play again on Tuesday night with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. ET. Joe Ross (0-0, 0.00) pitches for the Brewers while Frankie Montas pitches for the Reds. He's 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA.

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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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