Watch: Elly De La Cruz applies a playful tag on Aaron Judge at second base during Yankees vs. Reds showdown 

Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz shared a lighthearted moment with New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge. The Reds are at Yankee Stadium for a three-game series that started on Tuesday.

In the first inning, after Alex Verdugo grounded to second base, De La Cruz received the ball well in time to apply the tag to Judge who was hustling from first. Judge, seemingly short on base, stopped in advance as the duo mutually got the tag with a fist pump, as the innings ended.

The game between the Yankees and Reds stands 5-4 in favor of the latter as they enter the eighth innings. So far, Judge has gone 0-for-3 with one walk. However, De La Cruz is 2-for-4, including a triple in the fourth and a two-run shot against Caleb Ferguson in the fifth.

Both duos are having great seasons for their respective teams and will be key personnel in this series. While Judge leads the majors in homers (31), Elly De La Cruz leads all of baseball in stolen bases. His 40 SBs are 12 more than second-best Brice Turang, who has 28 stolen bases.

Former Reds legend compares Elly De La Cruz to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani

Joey Votto, who played 17 seasons for the Reds at first base, was all praise for his former team last year, especially Elly De La Cruz. He compared his power and hitting abilities to the same echelon of baseball's best hitters like Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (via The Dan Patrick Show):

"He's [De La Cruz] going to do some things [with his speed], and you're gonna see them on highlights, and you won't understand how he did it," Votto said.

"Couple that with, he has the most power maybe in the game. He's easily up there with [Aaron] Judge, Giancarlo [Stanton], Shohei [Ohtani]. He's everything you could ask for in a prospect," Votto added via Yahoo Sports.

Elly De La Cruz has been impactful for the Reds this year, both in the power and running game. He is hitting .252 entering Tuesday's game and has 15 home runs and 40 stolen bases.