Watch: Reds rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz steals second, third and home in one at-bat
The saying goes, "One, two, three strikes you're out!"
But Elly De La Cruz stole one, two, three bases in a single sequence to score Saturday during the Cincinnati Reds' 8-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The rookie sensation hit a RBI single in the seventh inning off pitcher Elvis Peguero. With Jake Fraley up for his at-bat, De La Cruz stole second base on a strike. Then, when the outfielder took a ball, De La Cruz scuttled to third base.
Catcher William Contreras tried to get his bearings, but the 21-year-old De La Cruz revved back up and ran toward home as Peguero slowly walked back to the mound with the ball. De La Cruz slid head first and tapped the base with his left hand to score.
He skipped around home plate in glee and ran into the dugout, where he was greeted by high-fives from his teammates.
“I kept checking on him, checking on him to see if he was going to go back or if he was checking on me or anything like that,” De La Cruz said through a translator. “When I saw him walk back to the mound, he was at kind of at a slow pace. He didn’t look back over there at third, so I decided there to go.”
The win is the Reds' ninth victory in 11 games.
De La Cruz made his MLB debut in early June and has 40 hits in 122 at-bats with four home runs and 16 stolen bases. His presence has ignited Cincinnati, as the team has gone 23-7 since he joined the Reds. Last month, he became the first Reds player to hit for the cycle in 34 years.
“We have very good vibes going on,” De La Cruz said last week. “It feels like everyone’s united and everyone’s just trying to help each other out."
Contributing: Associated Press