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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz received high praise from manager Terry Francona after pulling off an amazing catch to rob Jackson Holliday during their game on Sunday. The Cincinnati side went on to demolish the Orioles, scoring 24 runs in the final game to wrap up the series.
Elly De La Cruz was one of the standout players for the Reds and his manager has backed him to grow into one of the best players in the game.
He pulled off the flying catch in the second inning, when Jackson Holliday drove a Brent Suter pitch right down the middle towards center field. The Dominican infielder was quick on his feet and made a dive to catch the ball at full stretch. Not many players could have pulled off that play, which left even Orioles players and fans speechless.
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Manager Terry Francona spoke on "MLB Network Radio" the following day and heaped praise on his shortstop. He backed De La Cruz to have a huge career ahead.
"That play yesterday, he's probably the only person in baseball that makes that play. That was incredible. And I've seen him range out into left field and make plays there, those are doubles but he takes those things away," Francona said.
"We stayed on him about making the routine play and we will continue to be. And he wants that, he wants to be one of the best players in the game. Yesterday, we gave him the last three innings off, those are the first innings he hasn't played. I mean, this kid plays every inning of every game and he plays all out all the time. So the ceiling is obviously very high with this kid," he added.
At only 23 years of age, Elly De La Cruz is one of the most exciting players to watch and is quickly becoming the main man for the Reds. He is currently batting a .242 average with five home runs and 22 RBIs this season.
Reds pitcher Brent Suter shares his reaction to Elly De La Cruz's flying catch vs. Orioles
Cincinnati pitcher Brent Suter had the best view of De La Cruz's diving catch on Sunday, and he is still finding it hard to believe that the shortstop pulled it off. Speaking to reporters postgame, Suter said via Chatterbox Sports:
"That was amazing. That's the best play I've ever seen, best play I've been a part of... It looked like he was Clark Kent up there."
After robbing Jackson Holliday with his amazing catch, De La Cruz went on to blast a solo homer to get the Reds on their way to a 24-2 victory over the Orioles. It was the first time the Reds scored 24 runs in an MLB game since 1999.
