ATLANTA - Elly De La Cruz turned a routine night into a chase.
It started when he broke from first base as Sal Stewart swung through a third strike, a sprint that sent De La Cruz into second base so fast the call had to survive replay before it was ruled to “stand.” Two innings later, he sent a pitch over the right-field wall for a two-out solo homer, no review needed. With that, the Reds shortstop was down to one stolen base and one home run from becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to post a 30-30 season.
That kind of individual pursuit has become the main attraction in a Reds season that has long since drifted out of the standings race. Cincinnati beat the Braves 4-0, and with five games left, De La Cruz and rookie Sal Stewart are among the few things still giving the final stretch some edge.
De La Cruz’s night wasn’t limited to the milestone hunt. He reached base four times, adding a single and two walks to the stolen base and homer.
The performance fit the broader shape of his season, one that has him headed into his first winter of arbitration eligibility looking like a player aiming far higher than a standard raise. Before the game, he ranked fourth in the majors in Fangraphs WAR among non-pitchers and ninth overall with an .881 WAR.
Since the All-Star break, his OPS sat at .935. Over the previous month entering the week, he had been first in the majors in both WAR at 2.2 and OPS at 1.158, while also batting .388.
Stewart’s chase has its own weight. The rookie is pushing toward Rookie of the Year consideration and after a rare RBI crown for a first-year player, a feat only Boston’s Walt Dropo in 1950 and Ted Williams in 1939 have pulled off as rookies since RBI became an official stat in 1920. Eugenio Suárez has his own marker in view too; when he launched the third Reds homer on Tuesday night, it was the 350th of his career, making him the 10th active major leaguer to reach that number.
Still, manager Terry Francona said he’s not spending much time on the milestone talk.
“I want our guys to always do the best they can,” the manager said. “Obviously, I want Sal to win some awards and things like that.
But I don’t get too caught up in the rest of that stuff. Just try to be consistent and play the game right.
“You start looking at other stuff and you start veering off playing the game right.”
That point came into focus in the seventh inning, when De La Cruz crowded Suárez under a foul popup hit by Ozzie Albies. It wasn’t the first time he has done that with Suárez, and Francona noted he has done it before with Matt McLain and Jonathan India as well, with the latter sequence leading to an error. The moment was playful, but it also fit the kind of loose edge Francona would rather keep in check.
Even so, De La Cruz remains one of the game’s most electric players, and this is shaping up as the best year of his career. If he reaches 30-30, he’ll join an exclusive Reds group that includes Eric Davis in 1987, Barry Larkin in 1996 and Brandon Phillips in 2007.
“Again, do it in the course of playing the game right,” Francona said. “That’s what I care about.”
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