then still wasn't: No big deal for steady De La CruzMay 5th CINCINNATI -- The Reds haven't won every game that reaches safely during his streak he’s the one guy I’ve seen that when he walks the impact just starts more," Reds manager Terry Francona said With a fifth-inning walk Sunday, De La Cruz extended his career-high streak of reaching safely to 23 games. But the Reds didn't do enough offensively during a 4-1 loss to the Nationals on Sunday as they dropped the final two games of the three-game series and finished the homestand 3-4 De La Cruz came oh-so-close to continuing his personal streak in a more thrilling fashion As it rained harder in the bottom of the fifth De La Cruz was batting right-handed when he turned on a 1-0 pitch from Nationals lefty starter MacKenzie Gore De La Cruz pulled the ball toward the left-field foul pole the ball appeared to land fair and was ruled a two-run home run Even De La Cruz didn't seem to believe it was fair while carrying his bat as he trotted to first base as celebrational fireworks exploded “I didn’t let myself get too overboard there because I thought it was foul," Francona said I thought it hit the foul pole because I saw it left.” All four umpires gathered and changed the call to a foul ball We knew it was foul," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said "We had to wait for him to cross home plate De La Cruz drew a walk to extend his on-base streakas Gore slipped and fell on the mound during his delivery De La Cruz is batting .287 with three homers and 13 walks he still hasn't consistently caught fire offensively De La Cruz is batting .269 with a .771 OPS He has walked 16 times with 41 strikeouts in 153 plate appearances which is exciting for us," Francona said Quality start for MartinezIn back-to-back outings, Reds starting pitcher has worked a quality start he allowed one run and four hits over six innings with no walks and six strikeouts He gave up a double and a single to open the second inning “I got into a good rhythm with my mechanics and really felt free," said the pitcher who has a 2.03 ERA over his last three starts It was particularly encouraging for the right-hander that his best pitch He threw it 24 times to get 16 swings and seven whiffs – including three strike-three swings “I was throwing it more in the zone today," he said "That’s a credit to where my body is physically I was kind of coming out of it a little too early my last outing -- and really all year I was trying to force it and search for it instead of being a little more free and more athletic.” Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball Stephenson has solid first seriesCincinnati trailed, 1-0, in the bottom of the second inning when hit a 2-2 curveball from Gore for a leadoff homer to left field -- his first of 2025 Since making his season debut on Friday after missing the first 32 games with a left oblique strain Stephenson is 3-for-10 with the homer and two doubles I’ve been seeing the ball a lot better," Stephenson said "Just trying to get pitches I’m supposed to hit and be on time for them.” Ashcraft gives up deciding runsIn his first appearance since he dealt three perfect innings with four strikeouts for a win over the Cardinals on Thursday, Reds reliever took the loss vs Ashcraft gave up three runs in the seventh inning including a one-out solo homer to right field by García “I just think he left a couple of pitches where he didn’t want to and he proved he’s human," Francona said Finding runs scored is a popular way to attack MLB betting, and with 10 games on Monday's MLB schedule, there will be a ton of value on the board. With MLB props available for almost every player in every game at sportsbooks SportsLine's proven computer model can help you find value to add to your MLB runs scored parlay picks The model simulates every game 10,000 times and is on a 17-11 roll on all top-rated MLB picks since the start of the season The model has been routinely calling home run props and is up 28.8 units during the last 27 days the model and SportsLine's team of Data Scientists have revealed their projections for some of the most-bet MLB run props on Monday These three picks can be parlayed for +539 odds and would win more than $500 on a $100 bet You've seen the model's MLB run scored prop picks for some popular props on Monday. Now, get MLB projections for every player prop at SportsLine Also at SportsLine:You can also see today's best MLB picks from Jason La Canfora, who's on a sizzling 9-3 roll on MLB spread picks. Visit SportsLine to see his best bet for Monday's MLB schedule Watch SNYLog In Mets' foundation for pitching success a process five years in the making -- with many to thank Jets Draft Report Card: Grading Gang Green's picks Dart is Giants' future, it's only a matter of time before he's their present Grading the Jets pick of Membou in the draft Grading the Giants pick of Carter Mets' wave of rapidly approaching pitching prospects is tantalizing — and potential X-factor Giants Draft Report Card: Grading Big Blue's picks Jets establishing their identity under Glenn with Membou selection Everything you need to know about Giants first-round pick Carter Everything you need to know about Jets first-round pick Membou With Sproat close, Mets could soon have a good conundrum on their hands Mets top 30 prospects for 2025 season Posted by | May 3 Paul Blackburn gave up two runs on four hits and struck out six over three innings in his second appearance for Single-A Brooklyn The hitting star of the night was Jett Williams who went 3-for-7 with two doubles as Binghamton split a doubleheader The Florida Complex League Mets begin their Rookie League season Saturday at 10 a.m ET with a game against the FCL Cardinals in St Scranton Wilkes/Barre RailRiders (15-15) 3 Box Score De La Cruz was sensational with nine strikeouts in his first start for Syracuse gave up just one hit and threw 53 of his 70 pitches for strikes The 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic was promoted after pitching to a 1.98 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 13 2/3 innings at Binghamton Box Score Game 1 Williams doubled off the wall in left to bring in a run the 21-year-old is now 7-for-10 swiping bases on the season after going 59-for-74 a year ago This was the third time in five starts that McLean didn’t allow a run The 2023 third-round draft pick has struck out 30 and walked 12 in 26 1/3 innings Box Score Game 2 Williams had two of the Rumble Ponies’ three hits He is hitting .303 and has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games Pintaro has struck out 28 in 20 innings and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his five starts though his longest start was 5 2/3 innings Box Score Brooklyn scored all three of its runs in the second inning, with Ewing driving in two with a single who hit three home runs in Wednesday’s game extended his hitting streak to seven games Blackburn was sharp for two innings but ran into trouble in the third when he gave up a couple of runs Box Score After striking out 20 and walking three in his first four appearances (16 2/3 innings) Watson struck out two and walked four in two innings on Friday Copyright © 2005 - 2023 Metsmerized Online | Designed & Developed by WP CLINICS who will send out Trevor Williams to start and more below to make your Elly De La Cruz player prop bets De La Cruz has accumulated a team-high five home runs and 24 runs batted in De La Cruz's home run total ranks 53rd and his RBI tally ranks 13th Watch tonight's Reds game on Fubo! Send help right to the people and causes you care about Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee playGiancarlo Stanton's injury history (0:57)As Giancarlo Stanton faces uncertainty surrounding his elbows check out how many games he has missed since 2019 Stanton, 35, has been sidelined all season by tendinitis in both elbows. The five-time All-Star took batting practice with teammates last week for the first time this season but the team does not have a timetable for Stanton's return to its lineup Stanton is in his eighth season with New York he hit 27 homers and drove in 72 runs in 114 games He was among the club's top hitters in the postseason finishing with 15 hits -- including seven home runs -- and 16 RBIs as the Yankees advanced to the World Series De La Cruz batted .191 in 16 games this season for Atlanta. He is a career .251 hitter with 58 homers and 208 RBIs in 491 games with the Miami Marlins (2021-24), Pittsburgh Pirates (2024) and Braves The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report MLB Trade Rumors By | May 1 There was no previous indication that Atlanta had designated De La Cruz for assignment but it appears they quietly put him on waivers in recent days in an attempt to get him off the 40-man Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38 With Acuña slated to be back in the next month or so and Kelenic available in Triple-A De La Cruz didn’t have great odds of getting back to the majors which is surely what prompted the club to push him onto the waiver wire Stanton has been on the 10-day injured list all year due to problems in both elbows He has been trying to get healthy but still isn’t ready for game action Even once cleared to get into a lineup somewhere he will need a rehab assignment of a few weeks to get into game shape His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement so he will be eligible to be reinstated later this month if he’s able to get healthy by then But De La Cruz has options and there’s little harm in stashing him in Triple-A to see how things go He stepped to the plate 574 times for the Marlins over 2021 and 2022 with a combined .269/.318/.430 line and 103 wRC+ over those seasons a .333 batting average on balls in play helped him out a lot there and his production has tailed off since with a 28% rate of punchouts since the start of 2024 he was still able to be useful in a platoon setting he put up a .285/.309/.425 line and 99 wRC+ versus lefties though Grisham has reverse splits in his career Domínguez is a switch-hitter but has been vulnerable to southpaws so far He has a .277/.353/.529 line against righties but just .100/.239/.150 against lefties De La Cruz can get regular playing time with the RailRiders and try to get in a good groove If he succeeds or if the Yankees suffer an injury he could get find himself getting another crack at the majors Atlanta Braves New York Yankees Transactions Does MLB not announce or have a list of who has been DFA’d ushering a player off the 40-man roster but not necessarily subjecting him to claims by other teams What you’re interested in would be a public listing of who is on waivers The term “quietly” was a bit confusing Every team knows who is on waivers even if the public does not I think it’s in reference to the fact that it wasn’t reported (as many DFA/waiver moves for MLB players end up being) I hope this a typo & they meant to say Elly Whoever had Trent Grisham out hitting Cody Bellinger in every single way by may 1st in their office pool must be cleaning up right now He was at least an MLB-level bat with thump The Braves should’ve DFA’d Kelnic when Verdugo came on board and kept de la Cruz I feel White’s recent elevated play is fool’s gold So I can’t disagree with the overall assessment of de la Cruz here at all It’s highly debatable that he’s an mlb level bat I don’t think you realize just how bad he was and has been He had like 1 season that gave people hope years ago and he hasn’t produced anywhere near that since I’d argue that Kelenic is a a little better but that would be us debating which piece of poop is more quality than the other Both had options but the financial invest the Braves made for de la Cruz compared the amount of bad contracts they took on for Kelenic is astronomical the Braves have to exhaust all measures before cutting bait with him Keeping him over de la Cruz from a talent perspective is really a moot point. but one was clearly more of an investment and should be Acuña coming back soon and Profar the end of June Where the Braves are short is pitching depth Not sure why it was so imperative to open up another 40 man roster spot though one of those spots will be used on this week’s re-signing of Jessie Chavez Braves thought they could get a .191 batter with a 36% K rate past Brian Cashman? Too bad Bryan De la Cruz isn’t a pitcher We could’ve had a good dumpster diving fight between Brian Cashman and Jed Hoyer Dominguez has been pretty bad too…might need a refresher in AAA If BDLC is hitting and Dominguez isn’t Yankees always need more right-handed offense anyway The infield has to be the main concern right now though and Volpe (who has been decent the last few games) can’t really be relied upon for much offense Us Yankee fans have had just about enough of Dominguez and Bellinger though we have more patience for the latter I think the tools are there and he will play well eventually My comments regarding BDLC are in reference to Jasson maybe needing a spell down in AAA to get himself right He’s still young and missed a lot of time due to injury It might help him because the ultimate goal is for him to be a long term center piece for the team I’m happy to know tbat the Braves stopped wasting a 40 man spot for De La Cruz He was terrible in Atlanta and in Gwinnett the Braves will finally have a good outfield along with Harris Certainly need at least 4 good outfielders to get thru the season The assumption is Acuna will not have a set back The Braves have Kelenic and Fairchild and Rosario if there is an injury. they have sufficient depth without De La Cruz Since there’s nowhere else to put this and this is technically a Yankees article… Juan Soto has been awful so far as a Met and while I do think he is in his own head and pressing and not just relying on his natural skillset- he’s obviously putting extra pressure on himself due to the overall size of the deal and his AAV… If you look at his career stats and season over season production- besides being a relatively young free agent which would kind of justify contract length why would you overpay him by $10M+ per year If you look at his overall production and WAR etc Judge’s average is 8.8 and Soto’s average is 6.2; Judge consistently worth about 8.5-11.5 WAR over full healthy seasons and thus is truly a 10 WAR player who makes $40M per season who is consistently ‘healthy’ and yet his best WAR is about 8… shouldn’t he be worth about 20% less a year than Judge Shouldn’t Soto’s deal have been for like $39M per year AAV (accounting for contract length I really do think if Soto was making like $41M per season instead of $51M he wouldn’t be pressing so hard to live up to the insane price tag… Soto is worth less than $40M per season if Judge is worth $40M per season Everything you said makes sense except the MLBPA wouldn’t be cool with Soto taking on less money than what Judge got because they view it as setting the market for the next player They view free agency as getting a higher AAV than the last guy not about the value of the player So for the next generational talent that hits free agency they will be looking to top Soto’s 51m AAV as the price to beat Whether it’s a good viewpoint or not They should give Vivas a chance to play 2b and 3b Cabrera can play OF so no sweat moving on from Reyes I 250% understand and support this factor in any major free agent I get that they have a union mandate to always top the last equivalent-ish player’s deal to keep salaries from stagnating… but even if you adjusted for inflation he still shouldn’t have made more than $45M per… what is an extra $6M per season to secure the player I think it’s that extra money that is messing with Soto’s head and even if Soto wasn’t in his own head right now he isn’t worth the kind of money he’s getting paid and I say this as pure conjecture on my part Cohen went beyond the the 45m for Soto is because I think he wanted to beat Hal Steinbrenner in the bidding no matter what Cohen didn’t do it for Judge but he was going to go all-in on Soto so that’s my little theory for that Cohen decided he would do literally whatever it took- I mean he dipped well into his own pocket to go that extra mile financially outside of whatever official budget the Mets organization could afford as a business entity- which probably means if the Yankees had upped their bid to like $51M per season Cohen would have likely gone to like $56.5M per season or whatever A lot of players get overpaid by a few million per season and by a couple extra guaranteed years on a contract just so the team can lock them in over rival suitors Patrick Corbin’s Nats deal is a recent example of this the Mets deal for Carlos Beltran is another example- there are plenty of others but there’s a history of this happening- and it can happen at the $5M or $10M level But this felt like Cohen bidding against himself ultimately and I think Soto knows he is being paid too much money for what he brings to the game and that is messing with his head which is damaging his productivity on the field and in the batter’s box Soto is probably feeling the pressure to produce I agree with you there but we’ll see if he can get over his mental hurdles and be the player he’s always been Either that or he’s just not playing with the same intensity as he was when playing for the big contract I mean- to totally give up once the ink is dry is virtually unheard of very good numbers in the first year of his Angels deal I do think there are some players who checked out once the ink was dry like Yoenis Cespedes did with the Mets once he got 4 years/$110M I think Soto wants to produce and win and to be productive and valuable but I think he’s pressing so hard he’s not just playing the game he knows how to play and is currently a head case to his own detriment especially with the less-than-impressive start by Bellinger and Verdugo raking it in Hot-lanta Bellinger is a weird player who’s MVP calibre one minute As long as he hits MVP level streaks at the right moments in the season (and hopefully the post season) I don’t care if he’s streaky and goes through slumps Verdugo was a guy in his own head- kinda felt like another Clint Frazier- both gingers go figure- and a change of scenery and the virtually zero pressure of being a Triple-A call up just trying to fill in a functional bottom of the order gap for the Braves- so little to no pressure to perform- was probably the best thing for him to re-establish himself and unlike Frazier he doesn’t have to deal with concussion issues At least it wasn’t just the Pirates he sucked for He had some pop in past seasons with the Marlins I thought Bryan De La Cruz was a great acquisition for the Braves That’s two years in a row I got it wrong about Braves’ offseason OF pick ups De La Cruz can’t field his position so I understand his being outed when he wasn’t hitting Log in Register MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball Register Elly's Superman impression helps spark historic 24-run routApril 20th BALTIMORE -- On a day when the Reds enjoyed an offensive eruption not seen in a generation, a defensive play perhaps stood out most. Of course, it came from none other than All-Star shortstop Actually, the full range of De La Cruz's ability was on display early on during a 24-2 rout of the Orioles in Sunday's series finale at Camden Yards De La Cruz already had a gasp-inducing diving play a home run and a stolen base through three innings He’s superhuman," catcher Austin Wynns said of De La Cruz's catch when Baltimore had a runner on second base and one out in the bottom of the second inning when De La Cruz fully laid out to make a diving catch to his left on Jackson Holliday’s high It’s important to make every play in the game," said De La Cruz who stole second base in the first inning after walking The effort by De La Cruz saved a run for pitcher Brent Suter who raised his arms high in the air in jubilation best play I’ve ever been a part of while pitching especially since I had one of the best views of [it]," said Suter a reliever who started on a bullpen day and delivered three innings "It looked like he was Clark Kent up there “You never overlook those things because in this game A great play," manager Terry Francona said A throwing error by third baseman Noelvi Marte on a routine grounder by the next batter De La Cruz immediately picked up his teammate and led off the top of the third inning by hitting a 1-2 fastball from Morton to right-center field for a homer The go-ahead hit was De La Cruz's fifth homer of the season and second in three games It was also the spark for what came from the Reds over the rest of the afternoon During a seven-run rally in the third inning for an 8-1 lead they sent 11 men to the plate and knocked Morton out of the game • Cincinnati scored 24 runs for the fourth time since 1901 with the last time coming at Colorado on May 19 • The Reds’ 25 hits were also their most since that same game vs • Their 15 hits with runners in scoring position were the most by the Reds since tracking began on that statistic in 1975 • A new single-game modern franchise record was set as the club reached base 38 times their most for a three-game set since 1900 • The rout was such that the Orioles used a pair of position players -- Jorge Mateo and Gary Sánchez -- to pitch the final two innings • Every player in the Reds’ starting lineup plus right fielder Blake Dunn off the bench Wynns matched a franchise record with six hits -- including a three-run homer against Sánchez in the ninth inning • Austin Hays and Marte enjoyed four-hit and five-hit afternoons with Marte slugging a grand slam off Mateo in the eighth Although the Reds are 3-3 in their last six games, the club has scored seven or more runs in four of them. It's certainly no coincidence that it's happened after two key members of the lineup -- Hays and Matt McLain -- returned from the injured list on Tuesday “Some guys are starting to feel better about themselves and hopefully that will start to carry over a little bit.” Hays, in particular, has been a boost since coming back from a left calf strain that had him start the season on the IL He has hits in all six of his games so far you allow them to try to find their time to do it," Francona said "We scored a bunch a couple of weeks and then didn’t score for a few days It's almost hard to believe this month started with the Reds enduring a 35-inning scoreless streak "We’re getting hot and we’re going to stay hot," De La Cruz said Al De La Cruz discusses his views on the labor and employment legal landscape with the Business Journal Al De La Cruz leads the firmwide employment practices team at downtown-based Manning & Kass After spending five years as a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles De La Cruz joined Manning & Kass about a year after its founding to take charge of the employment practice He was tasked two years later with launching and managing the firm’s San Diego office and has since split his time between there and L.A De La Cruz works with private and public employers in pre-litigation and trial matters and has secured more than 100 jury verdicts Mark Geragos represented the plaintiffs in the personal injury case and settled that matter during the middle of my trial – putting a media spotlight on our case that certainly didn’t help the defense The jury remained focused on the actual facts and rendered a defense verdict but for seeing the legal process work even under intense scrutiny One of the best things about labor and employment law in California is the quality of the practitioners on both sides of the “v.” as well as the bench I’ve had great relationships with members of both the defense and plaintiff bars The Los Angeles Superior Court is filled with exceptional judges who put a great deal of effort into their Law & Motion calendars I recently had a case with Judge Kalra in LASC His work on our trial was of such depth that we lawyers focused on just that one same case had to work hard to keep up If we do see a true shift in domestic manufacturing that will likely drive the employment law workflow I’m quite interested to see what will happen if foreign manufacturers do go forward with an increase in domestic manufacturing they will likely be an adjustment factor to those companies entering the California employment law landscape the increase in mandated arbitration agreements will continue to move Los Angeles employment disputes into a private forum How those arbitration agreements will alter the otherwise strong demographic shifts in Los Angeles vis-à-vis the jury system will be very interesting to watch Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative The Braves cleared two spots on the 40-man roster on Thursday as they sent right-handed pitcher Ian Anderson to Gwinnett and saw outfielder Bryan De La Cruz be claimed by the Yankees The #Braves today outrighted RHP Ian Anderson to Triple-A Gwinnett OF Bryan De La Cruz was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees Anderson was out of minor league options this spring who would DFA the former postseason hero after just a few bullpen appearances that did not go well The Braves claimed Anderson off waivers on Sunday and then promptly DFA’d him on Tuesday to make room for AJ Smith-Shawver he has the much-desired minor league flexibility to continue working back from elbow surgery in Gwinnett the veteran outfielder departs for New York after a disappointing audition with Atlanta With Alex Verdugo and Eli White currently performing well — in addition to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s pending return — it was hard to see much of a role for De La Cruz anytime soon The Braves attempted to sneak him through waivers to keep him in the organization although the Yankees apparently liked him enough to take a chance De La Cruz has accumulated a team-high five home runs and 25 runs batted in De La Cruz's home runs rank 57th in MLB and he ranks 15th in RBI in MLB The New York Yankees added a potentially interesting bat during Thursday’s off day The team claimed outfielder Bryan de la Cruz off waivers from the Atlanta Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre The Yankees also put Giancarlo Stanton (double tennis elbows) on the 60-day injured list to make room for Cruz on the 40-man roster The earliest Stanton could return is May 24 The Yankees don’t need a starting outfielder immediately but they might have been looking for a right-handed complement to Jasson Domínguez in left field the Yankees claimed OF Bryan de la Cruz off waivers from the Atlanta Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To make room on the 40-man roster the Yankees have transferred DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list — New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 1, 2025 has been excellent from the left side (.872 OPS 63 plate appearances) and terrible from the right side (.391 OPS de la Cruz has a career .311 on-base percentage and .697 OPS vs Teams have spent the season trying to exploit the Yankees’ lefty-heavy lineup Their 228 plate appearances against lefty relievers are the most in the majors well ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs at 191 It was unclear if de la Cruz would remain minor-league depth for the Yankees who have mostly been playing Everson Pereira in left field at Triple A was expected to have an MRI on Thursday on the right oblique he injured as the Yankees faced the Baltimore Orioles on the road this week the Yankees could add de la Cruz in his place The move didn’t mean much for Stanton’s timeline The Yankees have not yet said when he might begin a rehabilitation assignment though he’s recently been hitting against a high-velocity pitching machine and performing light running workouts The Braves had demoted de la Cruz to Triple A when they called up ex-Yankee Alex Verdugo on April 17 Brendan Kuty is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees and MLB most recently as a beat reporter for NJ Advance Media Brendan was honored to receive the 2022 New Jersey Sportswriter of the Year award from the National Sports Media Association He attended William Paterson University and the County College of Morris USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) reacts to hitting a two-run home run against the Washington Nationals in the fifth inning inning at Great American Ball Park The home run was called a foul after an official review Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images A Stark Contrast Between Home Glory and On-Field Challenges An electrifying performance by Elly De La Cruz has become the singular bright spot in an otherwise troubled season for the Reds at home While the team continues to struggle in front of its own fans De La Cruz’s outstanding play shines through a backdrop of inconsistent roster health and underwhelming overall performance has not provided the defense the Reds desperately need With a record of 71 wins against 78 losses the home advantage remains a perplexing enigma Despite playing in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league the Reds rank low in several crucial areas Their team ERA is positioned near the bottom barely scrapes above the very lowest rankings the power output on home turf has been less than inspiring; there are several teams that have managed to hit more home runs over a similar span of games Elly De La Cruz has emerged as a beacon of hope In a season where the Reds’ offensive spark seems fleeting De La Cruz has consistently led in major batting categories he stands as the only player in the sampled 149 games to have recorded at least 20 home runs on his side of the ball His performance underscores not only his individual talent but also the glaring dependence of the team on a handful of key players A critical element of the Reds’ home woes lies in an unstable and often underutilized roster and Jonathan India—have managed to appear in 100 or more games This limited roster continuity has left the team scrambling for effective replacements when the core isn’t available significantly impacting their consistency on the field The lack of a robust bench and depth means that when injuries or fatigue strike the residual players struggle to fill the void The contrasting narrative between individual brilliance and collective underperformance offers a thoughtful glimpse into the challenges facing the Reds While fans cheer for the prodigious skills of players like De La Cruz the overarching systemic issues in roster construction and execution at home remain pressing concerns The situation calls for a strategic reassessment—improving roster depth and mitigating health issues could be pivotal in turning home advantage into a dependable asset The Reds’ journey is emblematic of the fine balance between individual talent and team cohesion De La Cruz’s explosive performance serves as a reminder of what the Reds are capable of on their best day bridging the gap between sporadic flashes of excellence and reliable round-the-clock performance will be essential the broader narrative of resilience versus systemic challenges will likely guide the team’s evolution prompting thoughtful reflection on their future prospects A Triumphant Homecoming Returning to the clubhouse felt like stepping into a familiar yet transformed world Electrifying Introduction A surge of raw talent and an unyielding spirit catapults Trea Turner from the ranks of the underdogs to the grand stage of Major League.. A Farewell That Strikes a Chord In an era where athletes are often encased in elaborate retirement ceremonies and orchestrated fanfare one former Dodgers All-Star broke from tradition.. A Season Altered by Adversity The unfolding of recent events on the field has turned the spotlight onto the relentless nature of baseball Introduction The crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd marked the rise of a prodigious talent in 2024—a season that elevated an emerging star to.. © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports Please enter your username or email address to reset your password © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports Felipe De La Cruz dazzled with six scoreless innings leading the Syracuse Mets to a 6-3 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders De La Cruz struck out nine batters during the game and retied the final 17 batters he faced Syracuse (14-17) started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a spark at the top of the order and Drew Gilbert hit another double off the wall in right-center field to bring Walton home and put the Mets ahead Joey Meneses pushed an RBI single into right field that scored Gilbert to make it 2-0 Syracuse held a 2-0 lead thanks to fantastic pitching from De La Cruz The 23-year-old left-hander tossed six innings and only allowed one hit and struck out nine while retiring 18 of the 20 batters he faced Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s (15-15) offense came alive The RailRiders scored three runs to tie the game at 3-3 putting pressure on the Mets lineup to score again Syracuse came out swinging in the bottom of the seventh and stormed back to retake the lead Walton drew a walk to score Celestino and put the Mets in front hit a sacrifice fly to right field that brought in Ritter to give Syracuse a 5-3 lead Jon Singleton smacked an RBI single into right field that scored Senger and put the Mets ahead the Syracuse bullpen stepped up to shut it down Rico Garcia tossed a scoreless eighth inning and Anthony Gose closed the door in the ninth to secure the victory Syracuse continues its six-game series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday night with game five But they still lost a player Thursday that's appeared in the MLB this season Atlanta announced on social media the New York Yankees claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from their roster With the Braves outrighting Anderson to Triple-A Gwinnett MLB.com's Mark Bowman referred to Atlanta's plan with the pitcher "successful." The Braves were successful with their attempt to pass Ian Anderson through waivers and send him to Triple-A Anderson spent 2025 Spring Training with the Braves. But the team traded him to the Los Angeles Angels before the start of the regular season because he didn't make the Opening Day roster and didn't have anymore minor-league options for the Braves to demote him to the minors the right-hander was going to have to clear waivers The Braves elected to acquire a relief pitcher in exchange for Anderson rather than run the risk of losing him on waivers Los Angeles, though, designated Anderson for assignment on April 23. Anderson posted an 11.57 ERA in seven appearances with the Angels The Braves claimed Anderson off waivers on April 27 the organization took the risk Anderson would clear waivers without another team claiming him the Braves can now send the right-hander to Triple-A Anderson has struggled with his control throughout this year He walked seven batters in 9.1 innings with the Angels During his last MLB season with the Braves in 2022 Anderson walked 54 hitters in 111.2 innings Anderson went 12-7 with a 3.25 ERA and 1.201 WHIP in his first 30 MLB regular season starts He was also 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in the playoffs during his first two MLB campaigns Anderson missed large portions of 2023 and 2024 because of arm injuries De La Cruz began the regular season with the Braves But to make room for outfielder Alex Verdugo the Braves optioned De La Cruz to Triple-A on April 17 Since then, the Braves have announced no other transaction with De La Cruz. MLB Trade Rumors' Darragh McDonald stated Atlanta may have designated the outfielder for assignment quietly in an effort to prevent another team from claiming him De La Cruz will now join New York's Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre De La Cruz slashed .191/.240/.213 in 50 plate appearances with the Braves before getting sent to the minors DAVE HOLCOMB The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Channelsreels-585856Reelsarrow-expand-585857Elly De La Cruz's long foul ball after ump reviewNationals @ RedsMay 4 2025 | 00:00:55add-reel-585858Reelsshare-square-2-585859ShareElly De La Cruz hits a long foul ball after an umpire review in the 5th You can now search for over 3 million videos by player Use the search box to start your search with a player or a team and then use the filter panel to refine your results You can also start by selecting filters from the panel Videos can be embedded and shared directly from MLB.com Bienvenido a la nueva búsqueda de videos de MLB Ahora puede buscar más de 3 millones de videos por jugador Use el cuadro de búsqueda para comenzar su búsqueda con un jugador o un equipo y luego use el panel de filtro para refinar sus resultados También puede comenzar seleccionando filtros desde el panel Los videos se pueden insertar y compartir directamente desde MLB.com/es There was an error when executing your search Please refresh the page or try another query to get results If you are still having trouble, please describe your issue here and we will do our best to resolve it Por favor vuelva a cargar la página o intente con otros parámetros para obtener resultados Si aún así continua teneindo problemas, por favor descríbalo aquí y haremos todo lo posible por resolverlo It looks like there are no results for your search Please note that \\\"Play\\\" filters are only available after the 2015 season Videos from 2015 and prior can be searched by player Examples of \\\"Play\\\" filters:Hit ResultPitch ResultPitch Type\"},\"es\":{\"title\":\"¡Ponchado!\",\"body\":\"Aparentemente no hay resultados para tu búsqueda tenga en cuenta que los filtros de Play sólo están disponibles después de la temporada 2015 Los videos de 2015 y anteriores se pueden buscar por jugador There were no clips found for this selection Please refresh the page or try again later No se encontraron clips para esta selección Actualiza la página o vuelve a intentarlo más tarde Channelsreels-109290Reelsarrow-expand-109291Elly De La Cruz's RBI doubleNationals @ RedsMay 3 2025 | 00:00:30add-reel-109292Reelsshare-square-2-109293ShareElly De La Cruz lines a 110.5 mph RBI double to left-center field in the bottom of the 9th Elly gives fans what they came for: grand slam on bobblehead nightApril 13th They’re special to us," De La Cruz said the Reds' fourth in their last five games guaranteed a winning three-game series over Pittsburgh with a chance to sweep on Sunday It was the second night in a row that the Reds needed only four hits to score five runs “We made the most of not a lot of hitting tonight," Reds manager Terry Francona said That inning was with two outs but when you get to Elly Pirates lefty Andrew Heaney retired his first seven in a row before Santiago Espinal hit a double in the Reds' third Heaney hit back-to-back batters with pitches in TJ Friedl and Blake Dunn the switch-hitting De La Cruz fell into a 1-2 count But he worked a full count and especially with the bases full knew Heaney had to throw something around the plate Heaney offered a high fastball and De La Cruz lifted it high in the air – at a 40-degree launch angle – while the crowd of 31,188 fans roared to life The ball kept carrying into the left field seats for the grand slam – the second of De La Cruz's career – and a 4-0 Reds lead I thought it was gone," De La Cruz said of the drive that was 107.8 mph off the bat “It means a lot because we work hard for that We just try to get a pitch to hit and when we get it It was a much needed homer for the slumping De La Cruz whose two other long balls this season came on March 31 vs But he’s always one swing away," Francona said with his legs there’s always something that can happen For Reds lefty who was making his season debut after being activated from the injured list he suddenly had a four-run lead to work with "It gives you a little more wiggle room you’re going to have your foot on the pedal the whole time roll innings and get the offense back out there I’m just excited that he’s back there for me.” Abbott pitched five innings and allowed one earned run and two hits with two walks and five strikeouts Pittsburgh notched a run on Alexander Canario's leadoff homer in the fifth inning and inched closer with another run in the seventh In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs De La Cruz had a chance for a second grand slam he grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning De La Cruz is batting .237 with a .727 OPS and a team-leading 16 RBIs He wasn't concerned about his recent lack of production "I am feeling comfortable on both sides of the plate The result hasn’t been there but it doesn’t matter The Reds' Saturday giveaway was unique in that there were two different bobbleheads distributed – featuring De La Cruz batting from each side of the plate Fans had to open the box to learn which one they received De La Cruz has another bobblehead night coming on June 18 vs. the Twins Perhaps there will be another moment for him to do something special Yanks claim Bryan De La Cruz off waivers; MLB implements a shadow shrinking of the strike zone; Judge Fried among many drivers of team’s early success; Spencer Jones sees results with new batting stance If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: The Yankees claimed Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from the Braves on Thursday The 28-year-old outfielder had slashed .191/.240/.213 in 50 plate appearances with Atlanta before getting sent down to Triple-A who the Yankees optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre upon the acquisition was an above-average bat by wRC+ in 2021 and 2022 with Miami but has been inconsistent since He now joins a crowded outfield picture in New York Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez at the MLB level The Yankees moved Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day IL to make room for De La Cruz on the 40-man The Athletic | Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal and Eno Sarris: ($) A little over a month into the season the Athletic has exposed a largely under-the-radar change to MLB’s umpiring policy In a new collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Umpires Association the league implemented a reduction of the “buffer zone” in which borderline pitches are graded out neutrally for umpires from two inches to three-quarters of an inch this change was made to address widespread momentum to hold umpires more accountable for balls and strikes it’s led to a shrinking of the strike zone across the league I do think we should be told that it’s smaller and that the buffer zone might be smaller,” Giants ace Logan Webb said in a representative comment MLB is steadfast that it informed all 30 MLB front offices and managers of this change during the offseason though several managers — including Mike Shildt and Terry Francona — have refuted this on the record but Aaron Boone isn’t getting ahead of himself just yet Baseball America | Geoff Pontes: ($) After a disappointing 2024 that saw his prospect stock tumble Spencer Jones retooled his swing this offseason introducing a closed stance akin to that of Aaron Judge The Yankees’ number-six prospect immediately reversed course opening up his stance bit by bit until he now has one of the most open stances in pro ball with Jones cutting down on his swing-and-miss after striking out 200 times last year The outfielder currently leads Double-A in homers as well providing optimism that he may be able to take a much-needed next step in his age-24 season That has led numerous Cincinnati Reds fans to push the idea of moving De La Cruz off shortstop and into the outfield But one of Reds' division rivals provides a glaring example of why that's a horrible idea Elly De La Cruz led the league in errors (29) a year ago and is tied for the league-lead (7) in that category again this season De La Cruz and Pittsburgh Pirates' phenom Oneil Cruz have a lot in common Both players are blazing fast and have cannons for arms The duo came up to the big leagues around the same time Both were also said to be "too tall" to play shortstop De La Cruz is listed at 6-foot-5 and Cruz stands 6-foot-7 While some players have broken the mold over the years — Cal Ripken Jr was 6-foot-4 — most shortstops are not that big De La Cruz's enormous size coupled with his tantalizing tools (and multiple errors) has continually caused a number of Reds fans to advocate for Cincinnati to follow Pittsburgh's example and move their star shortstop to center field There are numerous metrics used to evaluate a player's defense Old-school fans love errors and fielding percentage Newer metrics like defensive runs saved (DRS) and outs above average (OAA) have become the gold standard for the analytics crowd but there are more than dozen outfielders who grade out even worse The notion that speed and arm strength, both of which Cruz has in spades — he ranks in the 86th percentile in sprint speed and 100th percentile in arm strength — translates into a successful outfielder is extremely flawed Though there are certainly other examples of talented shortstops who transitioned to the outfield Cruz is just another example of one who hasn't © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"64","src":"65","url":"66"},{"type":"63","value":"67"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"6a","url":"6b"},{"type":"69","value":"6c"},"All Rights Reserved Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands Drew's contributions have been published on Blog Red Machine and many other sites within the FanSided Network When he's not cheering wildly for the Cincinnati Reds or the Kentucky Wildcats placeholders);",{"attributes":"ea","loadingType":"dz","name":"eb","source":"ec","type":"e2"},{"type":"dx","value":"ed"},{},"commercial-api","(function () {\n mmClientApi.push('getPageData' De La Cruz's enormous size coupled with his tantalizing tools (and multiple errors) has continually caused a number of Reds fans to advocate for Cincinnati to follow Pittsburgh's example and move their star shortstop to center field The notion that speed and arm strength, both of which Cruz has in spades — he ranks in the 86th percentile in sprint speed and 100th percentile in arm strength — translates into a successful outfielder is extremely flawed CINCINNATI -- Elly De La Cruz has struggled at the plate in April, but on his bobblehead giveaway night Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds shortstop broke out in a big way On a 3-2 pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney in the third inning sent a towering fly ball into the left-field seats for his second career grand slam Many of the 31,188 fans showed up early to grab a De La Cruz switch-hitter bobblehead and they are special to me," De La Cruz said The grand slam was an encouraging sign for De La Cruz who was batting .153 this month and hadn't homered since going deep twice March 31 against Texas "I'm feeling comfortable both sides of the plate The results haven't been there but that doesn't matter His manager wasn't concerned but recognized the importance of the grand slam there's always that chance," manager Terry Francona said De La Cruz became the youngest Reds player to hit a grand slam at Great American Ball Park He's just the sixth Reds player to hit two grand slams before the age of 24 "He's a difference maker," said Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, who earned the victory in his season debut. "Everyone in the room knows that." De La Cruz fell behind 1-2 to Heaney before working the count to 3-2. De La Cruz said he knew Heaney needed to throw a strike. "3-2, trying to make a pitch, guy is a good hitter and he put a barrel on it," Heaney said. "Probably went to the well one too many times there. Tried to be competitive there and got beat to the spot." Despite the early season slump, De La Cruz has been a run-producer for a Reds offense that began the month with three straight 1-0 losses. He's just the ninth National League switch-hitter since 1920 to have 16 RBIs in his team's first 15 games. "He's always one swing away," Francona said. "As cold as guys get, they get just that hot. It'll even out. I don't worry about him too much. He's a fun player to be around." The Reds (17-15) won Thursday's game against the St Louis Cardinals by a final score of 9-1 and the bullpen was outstanding (more on that later) The Cincinnati Reds split a rain-soaked series versus their bitter division rival this week and remain two games above .500 The Reds' bats finally came alive after being virtually shutout during the day-night doubleheader on Wednesday Cincinnati now welcomes the Washington Nationals to town for a three-game set and are looking to pull even with the NL Central Division-leading Chicago Cubs Unfortunately for Elly De La Cruz, he'll need to begin a new streak. The Reds superstar shortstop watched his career-best 14-game hit streak come to an end during Thursday's series finale against the Cardinals De La Cruz was 19-for-54 during those 14 games with a .352/.429/.481 slash line The speedster also swiped six bags during his hit streak De La Cruz's 19-game on-base steak is still intact Old friends reunited on Thursday night in Arlington when Tucker Barnhart was activated ahead of the Texas Rangers game against the Athletics. The former Reds' fan-favorite, who'd signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers this past offseason, was hanging the signs for Tyler Mahle during the Rangers' 3-0 loss Barnhart's contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday after Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka was diagnosed with an intercostal strain The Rangers have since placed Higashioka on the IL meaning Barnhart is likely to see plenty of time behind the plate for Texas over the next month or so The Reds bullpen has undergone a makeover the past couple of days. Alexis Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Louisville after a disastrous performance during Game 1 of the Reds doubleheader against the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon the Reds bullpen has sat down 35 hitters in a row Brent Suter, Lyon Richardson, Graham Ashcraft, Taylor Rogers, and newcomer Luis Mey deserve all the credit Suter and Richardson — who's since been sent back to Triple-A Louisville — put up zeroes after Chase Petty was lifted during the the third inning of his MLB debut on Wednesday Ashcraft came on in relief of Andrew Abbott after Thursday's rain delay and was un-hittable Rogers kept the base paths clear in the eighth and the rookie hurler Mey took care of the Cardinals in the ninth inning with high-heat It's been utter domination for the Reds relief corps; something that manager Terry Francona hopes to see continue when the Nats come to town on Friday ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"6d","src":"6e","url":"6f"},{"type":"6c","value":"6g"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"6j","url":"6k"},{"type":"6i","value":"6l"},"All Rights Reserved bullpen dominance","relatedPosts",[],[],[],4,0,"",{"next":"b9"},["48"],"semantic",{"articles":"b4","articlesQueryURLs":"b5","bySearchQuery":"40","excludeProperties":"4t","excludedIDs":"b6","isFullPost":"ax","limit":"b7","offset":"b8","onlyQueryURLs":"ax","organization":"b9","pagination":"ba","properties":"bb","sourceType":"bc"},{"type":"b3","value":"bd"},{"postsList":"be"},"Drew Koch has been an MLB Staff Writer since January 2024 and part of the FanSided Network since June 2018 placeholders);",{"attributes":"ef","loadingType":"e4","name":"eg","source":"eh","type":"e7"},{"type":"e2","value":"ei"},{},"commercial-api","(function () {\n mmClientApi.push('getPageData' Unfortunately for Elly De La Cruz, he'll need to begin a new streak. The Reds superstar shortstop watched his career-best 14-game hit streak come to an end during Thursday's series finale against the Cardinals Old friends reunited on Thursday night in Arlington when Tucker Barnhart was activated ahead of the Texas Rangers game against the Athletics. The former Reds' fan-favorite, who'd signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers this past offseason, was hanging the signs for Tyler Mahle during the Rangers' 3-0 loss Barnhart's contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday after Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka was diagnosed with an intercostal strain The Reds bullpen has undergone a makeover the past couple of days. Alexis Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Louisville after a disastrous performance during Game 1 of the Reds doubleheader against the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon Brent Suter, Lyon Richardson, Graham Ashcraft, Taylor Rogers, and newcomer Luis Mey deserve all the credit Ashcraft came on in relief of Andrew Abbott after Thursday's rain delay and was un-hittable 'It’s more the player than the bat' on Elly's big night with 'Torpedo'April 1st CINCINNATI -- It took four games but the Reds found the full throttle for their offense, with both their little engine -- -- and their big engine -- -- combining forces to provide the power McLain hit his third home run in as many games while De La Cruz -- using a much-ballyhooed "Torpedo" bat -- connected for his first two homers of the season, his first steal and a career-high seven RBIs to lead a 14-3 rout of the Rangers on Monday night at Great American Ball Park we both love playing together," McLain said "The pressure that we can both put on teams is fun putting pressure on teams with his speed and his power and everything he can do is fun.” De La Cruz became the latest Major League hitter to make use of the "Torpedo" bat that's made with the barrel closer to the hands. It's the same type of bat that made weekend headlines after the Yankees' homer barrage vs. the Brewers The switch-hitting De La Cruz tried it in batting practice Monday and used it in a game for the first time later that night “I just wanted to know if it feels good -- and it definitely does," De La Cruz said Manager Terry Francona downplayed the bat having a big effect on his shortstop's game “I think it’s more the player than the bat," Francona said The only Reds player who had previously used a "Torpedo" bat was catcher Jose Trevino who played for the Yankees before his offseason trade to Cincinnati “Trevino talked about it in Spring Training but I hadn’t really used it until today," De La Cruz said other Reds could very well follow suit -- and Francona had no issue with that “Our guys are going to order what they’re comfortable with," Francona said before the game The dynamic duo of De La Cruz and McLain each debuted in 2023 and nearly led a surprising Cincinnati surge into the postseason before falling short on the final weekend De La Cruz was without his double play partner last season with McLain missing the entire year with a left shoulder injury “We’re definitely feeling good playing together," De La Cruz said Cincinnati scored more runs than the 10 it scored over the first three games in dropping its season-opening series to the Giants The Reds had 21 hits in the first three games Francona noted after Sunday's 6-3 loss to San Francisco that his lineup was taking good at-bats and hitting the ball hard without much success there were a number of guys hitting off the machine because we knew it was coming," Francona said I thought [the Giants' Robbie] Ray got some fastballs by us early in the game [Sunday] that kind of beat us up a little bit.” The first four Reds to bat in the first inning collected hits against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker hit a 1-0 fastball for a two-run homer to left-center field to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead stole second base and took third on catcher Jonah Heim's throwing error Gavin Lux's RBI double to right-center field extended Cincinnati's lead to 3-0 De La Cruz attacked a first-pitch slider from Rocker for a three-run homer to center field -- his first of the season -- to push the lead to 6-0 Cincinnati added six more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning including a two-run double lined sharply into the left-field corner by De La Cruz Monday marked the first personal experience watching how the electric 23-year-old can change a game “I know I’m on the late show with that," Francona said "What I told him was the impressive thing controlling the ball the other way -- and you better make some pretty good pitches when he’s on balance.” Needing a triple to complete the second cycle of his career in the seventh inning De La Cruz instead tattooed his second homer of the night -- a two-run drive to center field that traveled a Statcast-projected 436 feet He wasn't thinking about a triple as he batted Not to be overshadowed was a brilliant debut for starting pitcher Brady Singer who gave up one hit over seven scoreless innings Singer is the first Reds pitcher since at least 1900 to have a start of at least seven scoreless innings with no more than one hit allowed in his team debut Elly is really good at baseball," Singer said "It makes my life a lot easier when they score 14 National Democrats are planning to target U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz in next year’s midterms, putting the Edinburg Republican in their crosshairs for the second straight election cycle as the party looks to rebound from a disastrous showing in South Texas De La Cruz’s 15th Congressional District was the only Texas seat included on the initial list of 2026 targets unveiled Tuesday morning by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The announcement signals that national Democrats are poised to put money and other resources into flipping the district a longtime Democratic stronghold before De La Cruz brought it under GOP control in 2022 The district is anchored in Hidalgo County and its biggest city It runs through rural South Texas up to Guadalupe County east of San Antonio Hispanic residents make up about three-quarters of the district’s eligible voting-age population De La Cruz’s win over Democrat Michelle Vallejo was one of several high-profile GOP wins in South Texas last year As in 2022 — when De La Cruz also defeated Vallejo — Republicans in Texas and Washington saw the race as an important benchmark in their efforts to continue gaining ground among Latino voters and cutting into Democrats' hold on South Texas Vallejo, the co-owner of her family’s flea market in Alton, saw a path to bring the seat back under Democratic control, starting with her newfound support from national Democrats who had declined to seriously invest in the race two years earlier The DCCC put the district on its early target list and gave Vallejo mentorship and resources through its Red to Blue program for candidates in races it deems competitive But much of Democrats’ national spending came not from the DCCC a super PAC connected to House Democratic leadership and Republicans easily outspent Democrats in the district made clear the party would target De La Cruz over the economy The DCCC “is already working to recruit authentic and battle-ready candidates in Texas who reflect this community and will work to better Texans’ lives,” DelBene added a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee said De La Cruz "has been a relentless champion for Texans "She was reelected last year by nearly 15 points and she’ll once again embarrass any out of touch Democrat that is foolish enough to challenge her," Bannon said in a statement National Republicans will be defending a narrow House majority next year, though they are also going on offense in some districts. The NRCC last month named two Texas Democrats — U.S Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen — among the 26 incumbents it plans to target Gonzalez previously represented Texas’ 15th Congressional District before switching to the neighboring 34th Congressional District after the 15th was drawn to favor Republicans Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival Texas’ breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase Choose an amount or learn more about membership Baseball Forums including Elly De La Cruz (.467 on-base percentage in past 10 games take on starter MacKenzie Gore and the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park Watch MLB, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Start your risk free trial today. Place your bets on any MLB matchup at BetMGM. Sign up today using our link. Bet on Elly De La Cruz player props with BetMGM Bet on this or any MLB matchup at BetMGM. Catch MLB action all season long on Fubo. Looking for officially licensed MLB gear? Fanatics has jerseys Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER Elly homers from both sides of plate (859 feet) in spring debutFebruary 22nd GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Reds All-Star shortstop is not easing his way into Spring Training That was made clear Saturday when the switch-hitting De La Cruz went 2-for-2 with a pair of solo home runs slugged from each side of the plate during the Reds’ 6-3 victory over the Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark with two outs in the bottom of the first inning when De La Cruz -- batting lefty -- drove Triston McKenzie's 2-2 pitch to the berm in right-center field for his first homer The blast went a Statcast-projected 450 feet Then in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out De La Cruz was batting right-handed when he crushed a first pitch from lefty Logan Allen and cleared the fence again “I was just thinking there’s no better way to start your season than to go deep from both sides of the plate,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said The second homer traveled to right-center field and landed in nearly the same spot as the first homer The second one was a fastball," De La Cruz said • Greene's lofty 2025 goals? Cy Young, 200+ K's and more De La Cruz was fooled on an earlier breaking ball in the at-bat and then he hit the next one out," said Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides who was acting manager for the split-squad game "So it's great for him to make that adjustment." De La Cruz hit two homers over 17 Spring Training games I think he understands what he's trying to do now," Benavides said he was just trying to -- [actually] the last couple years -- survive and trying to [handle] things that got fast for him and he's starting to figure out what it takes and what are the routines and what he's going to do to get better because there's still a lot of improvement to go." who hit 25 homers and swiped 67 bases last season has been hitting the ball hard during this camp -- including during several live batting practice sessions “I always put in hard work in the offseason That will come out in the [regular] season," De La Cruz said and will face starter MacKenzie Gore at 4:10 p.m De La Cruz paces the Reds with five home runs and 25 runs batted in De La Cruz ranks 55th in home runs and 12th in RBI Prep: Spent final two years at Orangeville Prep in Mono where he played for coach Tony McIntyre .. Won the division championship and was on the best team in the providence of Quebec.. Averaged 18.0 points and 7.0 assists per game .. was a BioSteel All-Canadian selection and Second Team All-Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association honoree.. Participated in a tryout for Team Canada’s U23 squad during the summer of 2023 Personal: From the same area as former Valpo standout Tevonn Walker and the two know each other.. Describes himself as laid back and someone who keeps to himself but also enjoys helping the community and being nice to people There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Reds on Radio's Tommy Thrall and Jeff Brantley reacted to Cincinnati's defensive struggles during the top of the 5th inning of Thursday's series finale, an 11-7 loss in 10 innings to Seattle The Reds committed four errors in the game, with two of them - a throwing error on outfielder Jake Fraley and a fielding error on shortstop Elly De La Cruz - helping the Mariners take a 4-2 lead in the 5th De La Cruz's error was his league-leading fifth of the season His second error of the game and sixth of the season came in the top of the 10th inning "That's one (batted ball) you have to get in front of," Brantley said during the broadcast "You learn from the time you're five years old to get in front of the ball." Brantley also acknowledged that the Seattle baserunner returning to second base likely disrupted De La Cruz on the play "It just hasn't been a crisp game (for the Reds defensively) "Not even in the slightest," Brantley added "This has been a rough day for the Reds' defense," Fanduel Sports Network's John Sadak said after De La Cruz's error in the 10th Only Elly can make this unbelievable sliding grab after running a mileApril 2nd When you watch the video and see come flashing out from the right side of your screen it looks like there's no way he can make it But doubt the Reds five-tool superstar at your own peril De La Cruz made a stupendous catch in the eighth inning of the Reds' 1-0 loss to the Rangers at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday afternoon traversing a huge expanse of open space -- 119 feet to be exact -- before sliding feet-first to pluck a towering Leody Taveras pop fly off the foul territory warning track De La Cruz reached an impressive 28.3 feet/second sprint speed before making the sprawling back-handed grab well above the MLB average of 27 feet/second but seeing it up close on a daily basis is different even for a baseball lifer like new Reds manager Terry Francona “The guys had kind of told me when I came here ‘He’ll go to those balls like nobody you’ve ever seen,’” Francona said after Wednesday's game also getting his first daily dose of De La Cruz after arriving in an offseason trade from the Dodgers put it succinctly: “There is certain stuff that he can do that no one else can do.” No matter where he stands in the batter's box Cincinnati's most electrifying player is bound to crush the baseball De La Cruz and the Reds return to Great American Ball Park on Friday after playing seven straight games on the road The long-awaited homestand will likely draw a huge crowd, as the Reds are giving away a De La Cruz switch-hitter bobblehead on Saturday before the Reds face the Pittsburgh Pirates Fans will randomly receive either a figurine of him batting from the left or right side Here's everything you need to know to get your hands on a De La Cruz bobblehead The Reds-Pirates game on Saturday is slated for a 6:40 p.m Fans attending games this weekend should be aware of special parking and traffic considerations along the riverfront due to recent flooding and allow for extra time to arrive to the ballpark Visit reds.com/parking for updated parking information There are no rules on what time fans can start lining up at Great American Ball Park for De Le Cruz bobblehead night To put things into perspective, the last time the Reds had a De Le Cruz bobblehead night, the stadium set an attendance record (and that was for a weekday game) The ballpark drew 42,427 fans in 2024 when they gave away De La Cruz City Connect bobbleheads It was the largest weekday attendance in the history of Great American Ball Park If Saturday's giveaway is anything like last year's a packed crowd will likely be waiting to enter the stadium and people will probably start lining up early A limited number of switch-hitter bobbleheads will be handed out to fans on a first-come The exact bobblehead quantity was not released Ticketed fans will receive one De Le Cruz bobblehead while supplies last Fans with multiple tickets must exit and re-enter the ballpark in order to receive multiple bobbleheads Visit reds.com/promotions for more information Elly's English skills make him teacher's petMarch 30th CINCINNATI – A year ago, on the eve of Opening Day, Reds shortstop surprised reporters by doing a press conference in English De La Cruz relied on translator Jorge Merlos to communicate with the media and thus Speaking English in public continued throughout the season for De La Cruz feeling proud of his accomplishment: His English teacher “I don’t even have words to describe how amazing it is," said Beltre but the impact he’s having is so much bigger than just him doing it It has a ripple effect throughout our entire Minor League operation more and more of our international players coming up through the system said Beltre joined the Reds as a contractor in 2019 – a year after De La Cruz signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic – and became a full-time employee in 2023 and she helped me a lot," De La Cruz said Beltre works in the club's wellness and education department which also coordinates high school education programs for international students seeking their diplomas Although high school classes are optional for Reds prospects from foreign countries English classes are mandatory and are taught at the club's Dominican academy and the team complex in Goodyear More than 80 players are part of the program He was one of our youngest," Reds director of wellness and education Becky Schnakenberg said "I remember actually having a picture of him and he was only a couple of inches taller than me at that time "He was always very open and participated in our education activities even when he was the youngest of all of them." Now 6-foot-5, De La Cruz has quickly become a burgeoning superstar face of the Reds. He's been featured in national ad campaigns, including his voice speaking English in a claymation commercial for MLB He's also one of three young stars on the cover of the video game MLB The Show 25 But years ago as he worked his way to the big leagues De La Cruz was still learning simple English words and phrases and how to use them in conversation and daily life situations He was everything you could want in a student," Beltre said "So it’s no surprise to me that he learned English as quickly as he did But I always recognize the effort he made outside of class How they apply it and how they continue to study outside of class is really what makes them bilingual and he excelled in that.” It's one thing to learn a new language but it's a whole other experience to be an interview subject to dozens of reporters the camera and lights and knowing what you're saying in that second language could potentially be heard by thousands and millions of people “Amazingly difficult," Schnakenberg said "And how much confidence do you have to have in your intelligence and be willing to make a mistake I hope some of that he learned through our program We’ve always said you don’t have to speak perfectly some Latin players will speak English privately to their American teammates but opt for a translator in interviews The Reds help prepare players for interviews as part of the English class curriculum “Now we’ve really implemented postgame interviews in English from the affiliates on Zoom with our players who really want to work on that skill," said Beltre who has an undergraduate degree in journalism “We are trying to make the program even bigger the more we’ll have more guys going up and using their English.” De La Cruz had no problem finding confidence "[Beltre] helped me learn the language but the confidence was inside of me," he said Even though he's no longer taking English classes De La Cruz is still seeking to improve his skills "I always work on that," he said "I'll just keep working to keep getting better." 'I've never seen that': Elly does something Tito can't believeMarch 12th GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- opened the bottom of the fourth inning Tuesday by effortlessly legging out an infield single with a burst of speed that wowed the crowd That was nothing compared to what was coming The 23-year-old phenom took second base one batter later when Austin Hays was hit by a pitch giving the Reds runners at first and second with no outs in a scoreless game against the Rockies and catcher Tyler Stephenson digging in During the at-bat both De La Cruz and Hays broke on a double steal Rockies catcher Drew Romo took his shot at throwing out Hays at second he just never stopped running and came all the way around to score with the ball never leaving the infield “You know [how] they say you may see something when you come to a game you never seen before I’ve never seen that,” said Reds manager Terry Francona who has been in Major League Baseball since breaking in as a 22-year-old rookie in 1981 “When he left third I’m like ‘no no no no … good play.’ I mean that’s as athletic and instinctual I think as you’re ever gonna see The play was originally scored as one stolen base with De La Cruz then taking home on the throw word came down of an official scoring change crediting De La Cruz with two steals on the play There’s much more than speed to marvel at on such a play but if he doesn’t keep his head up and know where the ball is De La Cruz’s 67 stolen bases in 2024 led the Majors The All-Star also became the first shortstop in MLB history with 25+ homers and 65+ stolen bases in a single season. He is the fastest MLB player to reach 100 stolen bases and 100 extra-base hits (251 games He also joined the Cardinals’ Vince Coleman (217 SB 1985-86) and the Athletics' Rickey Henderson (133 SB 1979-80) as the only players in the Modern Era (since 1900) with 100+ steals through their first two Major League seasons In an accompanying move, the team claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers and sent him to its Triple-A affiliate. Stanton has yet to play this season while dealing with tendinitis in each of his elbows. the fact remains the date for Stanton's 2025 debut is unclear They haven't missed Stanton's bat in the order too much Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice could be headed for some regression after far outplaying their projections so far is unlikely to provide much pop if he gets called up to the majors He had a .191/.240/.213 slash line in 50 plate appearances with the Atlanta Braves this year MILWAUKEE – The first day Elly De La Cruz got his hands on one of those newly designed torpedo bats last week By now everyone who follows the Cincinnati Reds knows what the team’s dynamic young star did the first day he used one of those bats He said has no idea whether anyone analyzed his swing to tailor the thicker part of the barrel for his individual sweet spot 11 total bases and seven runs batted in later That shipment is expected to be waiting for him when he and the Reds return home to open a homestand Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates More: The Reds wanted to get Hunter Greene his first win of 2025. Here's how they did it Meanwhile he has alternated between his old bat and the newly styled one which also is called a bowling-pin bat because of how the barrel looks when the bulge in the barrel is created at the hitter’s natural contact spot causing the barrel to taper from there to the end Whether the torpedo-bat craze sticks with lasting impact on the game any more than and axe-handled bats or pillbox-style caps a big season by De La Cruz goes with the new style is certain to have an outsized impact on its popularity And that will take the story behind how he suddenly came to use it not only his story The Reds were not one of the four or five MLB teams (including the Yankees and division-rival Cubs) experimenting with the torpedo bats before that Monday night at Great American Ball Park against the Rangers Not until the buzz created during the opening weekend at Yankee Stadium when the Yankees crushed the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-day barrage of home runs many of the players talking about doing it with the new bats By that Monday, representatives from Louisville Slugger were in Cincinnati with a bat for De La Cruz after the bat maker got an urgent call coming out of the weekend saying the fifth-generation executive of the company told the Louisville Courier-Journal It was from De La Cruz’s representatives at Boras Corporation Turns out the Reds handle the job of tracking specs and ordering bats for all the team’s players except De La Cruz which provides an advantage of especially personalized attention while also retaining De La Cruz’s possession of used (and broken) bats De La Cruz already was intrigued by newly acquired catcher Jose Trevino talking about how much he liked the torpedo bat he uses — even before his old team went nuts on the Brewers At which point the phone rang in Louisville “We ordered a sample bat for him,” agent Scott Boras said And the only reason he didn't have his own batch of fresh bats in Milwaukee for the start of that series last week is because of shipping delays caused by weather the Pirates may be the unfortunate punching bags when De La Cruz gets his new shipment this week They’ve come and gone almost as long as big-league players have Even Trevino can’t say how much of the impact so far is psychological or physical As once-touted minor-league catcher Crash Davis said in 1988 “If you believe you’re playing well because you’re getting (some) And Reds manager Terry Francona downplayed the impact of the equipment after De La Cruz’s torpedo bat breakout night But every chef also knows that the power of any great pasta dish starts with the noodle Stephanie Kuzydym of the Courier-Journal contributed to this report De La Cruz ranks 49th in homers and 12th in RBI This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application She is preceded in death by her beloved mother Brisa was very loved and will always be missed.  A Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM with a Rosary starting at 7:00 PM on Friday A Graveside will follow at 1:30 PM at Evergreen East Cemetery Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home- Americas Family requested everyone to dress in the color baby pink to honor Brisa Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text Click to watch This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors