Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz became the youngest major league player to hit for the cycle in 51 years as Cincinnati extended its winning streak to 12 games with an 11-10 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
De La Cruz, 21 years-of-age, who has only had a cup of coffee in the major leagues, doubled to lead off the second inning, had a two-run jack in the third, hit a run-scoring single to center in the fifth and tripled in the sixth for his fourth RBI of the night. The last hit increased the Reds’ lead to 11-7.
He became the youngest player to hit for the cycle since the Houston Astros’ César Cedeño in 1972, according to ESPN Stats & Information. De La Cruz is also the third player since 1901 to hit for the cycle within his first 15 career games.
The cycle was only the seventh in Reds’ history, fifth since 1900 and first since Eric Davis accomplished the feat against the San Diego Padres on June 2, 1989.
De La Cruz wears the same No. 44 that Davis did.
“I can’t really put it into words right now,” De La Cruz said through an interpreter. “I’m happy and excited. It is fortunate Eric Davis is one of the legends of this game and in Cincinnati too. Sure enough he let me wear that jersey No. 44, and to be the [first] one since him to do that is incredible.”
Many in the capacity crowd of 43,086 at Great American Ball Park chanted “Elly! Elly!” The huge turnout came just a mere two months after a record low for attendance at the stadium of 7,375 on April 17. My, how quickly things change.
“I think this might be the best regular-season game that I’ve been a part of,” Reds manager David Bell said. “I think a lot had to do with the atmosphere in the ballpark. Both teams played a great game. They came up short, but it showed the kind of team they are. It took a lot of great performances to win that game.”
In a head-to-head matchup of National League division leaders, the Reds erased an early 5-0 deficit and stopped the Braves’ eight-game winning streak right in its tracks.
The Reds’ winning streak is tied for the second-best in franchise history, matching the 1939 and 1957 teams for the club’s longest since 1900.
The streak is tied with the 1890 Louisville Colonels for the longest win streak by any team that lost at least 100 games the previous season in major league history.
