Elly De La Cruz gave the Reds two of the night’s loudest moments in Los Angeles, but Cincinnati still walked away with a 3-2 loss.
The shortstop opened his big night in the top of the third by hammering a first-pitch, 87.5 mph changeup from Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal. De La Cruz sent the ball a Statcast-projected 444 feet into left-center, tying the game and launching what became the longest homer hit at Dodger Stadium so far in the 2026 season. The drive cleared Shohei Ohtani’s July 12 shot by seven feet, matched De La Cruz’s single-season career high at 25 home runs and stretched his homer streak to four straight games.
“I thought it was a good pitch to hit,” De La Cruz said of the blast. “We always want to come out with a win, but it feels good to do the job.”
That swing only started the show. Later in the same inning, De La Cruz flashed the other side of his game and produced a throw that had everyone talking.
Teoscar Hernández hit a ball into center field that caromed all the way to the outfield gate. As Hernández rounded third, third-base coach Dino Ebel sent him home. De La Cruz took the relay from left fielder JJ Bleday, turned and fired home, and Jose Trevino applied the tag to cut down Hernández at the plate.
The throw drew instant attention for its sheer force.
“That was one of the better throws you'll ever see, I mean, ever,” manager Terry Francona said. “I know I turn on the old things and you see Dave Parker or somebody making throws or Clemente; they might be showing that one [now].”
“Every time he throws a ball, it's an absolute rocket,” starting pitcher Nick Lodolo added. “It was a great throw, and it was a great pick by Trevi to stay with that and make the tag. A lot of credit to both guys there.”
Asked about the velocity on the play, De La Cruz downplayed it.
“I thought it was like 98, 99 [mph],” De La Cruz said. “I didn't know; it was not hard.”
Lodolo, meanwhile, was dealing with his own fight on the mound in front of his hometown Southern California crowd. He lasted 4 2/3 innings, gave up three earned runs on five hits, struck out six and threw 97 pitches.
The damage started early when Will Smith homered in the first. In the second, Lodolo ran into more trouble with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch that forced in another run, though he limited the inning from getting worse. Francona said he saw the left-hander settle in as the outing went along, even if he was tempted to leave him in for the fifth.
“I thought early he wasn't commanding,” Francona said. “As he got into the third, fourth, fifth, I actually thought he was better, and I was kind of fighting it [leaving him in] because I know Hernández wasn't a great matchup, but I really wanted him to get through that fifth. I thought it would have been really good for him, [but then] he reached out and poked a 3-1 changeup into right.”
Lodolo pointed to the walks as the difference.
“Too many free passes on my part," Lodolo admitted. "That's what led to the runs outside of the good hit by Smith in the first.
Overall, got to limit the free passes. My stuff is great, just gotta limit that and make them work a little bit more.”
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