Gordon WittenmyerCincinnati Enquirer
Show Caption
NEW YORK – The kid who grew up a Yankees fan idolizing Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter did what he always does when the stage gets bigger and the moment shines brighter.
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz stole the show.
In his first career game at Yankee Stadium, De La Cruz tripled and scored the first run of Tuesday's series opener, then hammered a two-run home run into the Reds' bullpen for the final two Reds runs in a 5-4 victory over the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series.
If that wasn't another big statement in his fast-improving case for an All-Star bid in his first full big-league season, it at least helped the Reds take a big step toward staving off seller status at the trade deadline later this month.
“Some players are just comfortable in the big spot,” Reds manager David Bell said. “And it’s not just a certain city or location. It’s just the importance of a game, the importance of an at-bat. First time here. There’s a lot to be said – he’s just comfortable in those spots. He believes in himself."
De La Cruz resisted the idea that he does anything more when the stage gets bigger.
“I’m the same guy,” he said. “I’m just trying to help my team win.”
That might be the intent.
But the results paint a different picture.
De La Cruz doubled and walked twice in his big-league debut last year. He hit for the cycle in his first game against Ronald Acuna Jr. and the juggernaut Atlanta Braves last year. Two of his four career four-hit games came at Dodger Stadium ("I love it here," he said in the dugout there in May). He doubled and singled in Pittsburgh against MLB's top prospect, rookie sensation Paul Skenes, two weeks ago.
And in his first game at Yankee Stadium, with friends and family in the stands, De La Cruz, 22, upstaged superstar Aaron Judge, who had three hits and his own warp-speed home run Tuesday.
“And he’s just at the beginning,” Bell said. “There’s going to be a lot bigger spots and bigger stages.”
Stay tuned for the announcement of All-Star reserves. De La Cruz already turned down a Home Run Derby invitation for the second time in barely a year in the big-leagues. But he's expected to get this shot yet at taking the All-Star stage in Texas in two weeks.
"I want to be there," he said.
If the New York faithful watching Tuesday – the ones oohing and aahing as he rounded second and strode into third on that third-inning drive into the right field – had any say after that game, he might be on the roster already.
De La Cruz said he didn't hear the fans as he raced toward third. But he knew who was chasing down his hit in right field, Yankees star Juan Soto, his pal and workout partner from the Dominican Republic.
“He was trying to get me out there,” De La Cruz said. “He can’t catch me.”
Teammates Graham Ashcraft and Will Benson joined a growing chorus of teammates expressing awe at De La Cruz's ability to rise to the moment – and his abilities in general.
“When he’s hitting his stride and he’s on, that’s a dangerous player at the plate and in the field,” said teammate Graham Ashcraft (5-4), who pitched five scoreless innings before putting the first three batters on in the sixth and excited.
The Reds – losers of 10 of 15 entering the series – improved to 3-2 during a two-city trip through St. Louis and New York.
Perhaps nobody got more out of the first two days in New York than De La Cruz, who brought a bunch of homemade Dominican food to the clubhouse before Tuesday's game, compliments of a good friend's wife.
"It was really good," he said. "In the Dominican the seasoning is different. And here they make it really good."
De La Cruz said the first big-league game he saw was at Yankee Stadium, maybe eight years ago.
"I was young," he said.
Well, younger.
"A little kid," he said.
A lot of that feeling came back after the game, when he lingered on the field to see all the friends and family who watched him on Tuesday, along with New York fans with Dominican roots gathering near thefast-rising new star from the D.R.
"I feel so proud and happy,” he said.
