The Cincinnati Reds' decision to hold onto the 24-year-old shortstop at the MLB trade deadline paid off on Monday.
The Cincinnati Reds were reluctant to move star shortstop Elly De La Cruz at the MLB trade deadline despite ranking fifth in the NL Central and going 53-58 overall.
The 24-year-old would struggle in the previous 14 games before the Reds' doubleheader against the rival St. Louis Cardinals, going 7-for-51 at the plate. De La Cruz also went 0-for-4 during game one on Monday, striking out four times.
Still, he broke through when it mattered most in game two with an electric RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning that drove in Tyler Stephenson to secure a 6-5 win at Great American Ball Park.
Following the matchup, De La Cruz credited Stephenson and the rest of Cincinnati's lineup for the victory while also expressing trust in manager Terry Francona who experimented with him in a designated hitter role.
"It’s been a couple of tough days, but we’ve got to stay through it," De La Cruz said, according to MLB.com. "I didn’t say nothing when he told me to DH. I’ve got to believe that anything he does, it’s good. He’s the one who knows."
De La Cruz added: "The fastest guy on the team was on second, that’s why we won. I feel good to deliver when the team needed it the most, but it’s not just me. All the guys did a good job and that’s why we got the W."
In addition to walking it off, De La Cruz came in to score off a sacrifice fly by Eugenio Suárez in the first inning.
However, the Cardinals countered in the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead when Iván Herrera launched a solo home run to center and Masyn Winn hit an RBI single that brought home Alec Burleson.
The Reds struggled to mount a response of their own as Nathan Church drove in MLB Home Run Derby winner Jordan Walker in the sixth while Church scored afterward off an RBI single by Blaze Jordan.
That same inning though, Cincinnati stormed back with three runs to tie the game at 4-4 when Michael Toglia scored JJ Bleday. Toglia would also score along with Suárez off another RBI single by rookie Héctor Rodríguez who made his big-league debut on Aug. 4.
The Cardinals were not done yet in the eighth as Bryan Torres brought in Walker to reclaim the lead. Even then, Dane Myers responded for Cincinnati with a solo blast to left center to knot things back up at 5-5.
Closer Emilio Pagán then slammed the door on St. Louis in extra innings, paving the way for De La Cruz to deal the final blow.
As of now, De La Cruz leads the Reds with a .261 batting average and .344 on-base percentage while recording 57 RBI and an .819 OPS.
The Boston Red Sox had De La Cruz in their sights, but were met with the Reds' high asking price of multiple MLB-caliber players, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
So far, Cincinnati's commitment to their young slugger appears to be the right decision.
He will be primed for another opportunity to contribute tonight at 6:40 p.m. EDT against Cardinals right-hander Kyle Leahy.
