Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds became the youngest player in 51 years to hit for the cycle on Friday night, as the Reds extended their winning run to 12 games with an 11-10 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
De La Cruz, 21, opened the second inning with a double, followed with a two-run homer in the third, a run-scoring single to centre in the fifth, and a triple in the sixth for his fourth RBI of the night. The last hit extended the Reds’ advantage to 11-7.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, he became the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Houston’s César Cedeo in 1972. De La Cruz is also only the third player in history to hit for the cycle in his first 15 games.
The cycle was the elly de la cruz seventh in Reds history, the fifth since 1900, and the first since Eric Davis completed the feat on June 2, 1989, against the San Diego Padres.
De La Cruz is wearing the same No. 44 as Davis.
“I really can’t put it into words right now,” De La Cruz explained via an interpreter. “I’m overjoyed and delighted. It’s a good thing Eric Davis is a legend in this game and in Cincinnati. Sure enough, he allowed me wear No. 44, and to be the [first] person since him to do so is fantastic.”
Many in the 43,086-person sellout audience at Great American Ball Park yelled, “Elly! Elly!” The large crowd comes two months after a stadium attendance low of 7,375 on April 17.
The run is tied with the 1890 Louisville Colonels for the longest by any club in major league history that had lost at least 100 games the previous season.
