‘Woof!’ Check out what Elly De La Cruz did this time as Reds win again
Of the highlight-reel plays he's made in his career, Elly De La Cruz called the diving stop and throw in Monday's game "one of the best ones. So far."
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – When Sal Stewart’s pulling off Elly De La Cruz-style feats, and De La Cruz is making defensive plays he considers among his best, something must be going right for the Cincinnati Reds these days “Every game looks a little different, but we always find a way,” Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder said of the team’s 15-8 start that has them on a four-game winning streak and in first place. Take your pick of any number of big plays in the series-opening win against the Rays on Monday night as the highlight.
But not even Stewart’s impersonation of De La Cruz on a two-out double, steal of third and sprint home on a wild pitch could upstage what De La Cruz did in the the third inning of a 6-1 win. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, a close friend of De La Cruz, drove a 113-mph grounder toward left field that looked hard enough that it might even split the gap – until De La Cruz somehow snared it at full extension, in the final split second of a dive toward the hole. Then he leaped in one motion and threw a strike to first base that rivaled the velocity of the hit, getting the out by a half step.
Of all the highlight-reel plays, “That was one of the best ones,” De La Cruz said. “So far. ” The throw might have been as good as the diving snare.
Either way, it left teammates slack-jawed. “Woof! ” Stewart said.