MILWAUKEE (AP) — Elly De La Cruz became the first Reds player since 1919 to steal second, third and home in the same inning, the latest electrifying play from the franchise-changing rookie, and Cincinnati beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-5 on Saturday.
De La Cruz broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single off Elvis Peguero, then made the reliever’s life miserable in a span of two pitches. He stole second on a 1-1 offering from Peguero (1-2). On the next pitch, De La Cruz swiped third without a throw.
The rattled reliever caught the ball from catcher William Contreras in front of the mound and turned his back as he walked slowly toward the rubber. Pausing only to put his helmet back on, De La Cruz walked down the third base line, broke into a sprint and easily beat Peguero’s rushed throw to the plate.
“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.” READ MORE
