The Reds shortstop hit a ball out of Great American Ball Park on Monday, and he does not agree with the number Statcast put on it.
Statcast said the home run shortstop Elly De La Cruz hit on Monday night traveled 457 feet, and the man who hit it is not buying the measurement.
The blast was the biggest moment of an otherwise fading September for the Cincinnati Reds, because it left the park completely, and because De La Cruz followed it up on Tuesday by collecting most of what little offense Cincinnati managed in a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Two of Three Hits in a Shutout
Tuesday belonged to Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw seven innings and allowed one hit while striking out seven.
That one hit was a two-out double by De La Cruz in the third, and he later added a ninth-inning single off reliever Tanner Scott to finish with two of the three hits the Reds managed all night.
Los Angeles built its lead on a run-scoring single by catcher Hunter Feduccia in the second, a two-run homer from outfielder Teoscar Hernández in the third and a solo shot by second baseman Alex Freeland in the seventh, while starter Rhett Lowder gave Cincinnati five innings and allowed three runs.
The Reds have now dropped the first two games of the series and sit at 70-81, which means even winning every remaining game would only get them to .500.
The Number He Wants Corrected
The 457-foot projection came from Monday's ninth-inning solo shot, his 27th home run of the season, which left through the gap between the smoke stacks and the right-field seats and bounced onto Mehring Way outside the stadium.
De La Cruz heard the number and rejected it.
"I think that's wrong. If the ball left the stadium, I think it's farther than that," he said.
He has some history on his side, since his longest career homer was measured at 467 feet in Cleveland in 2023, a number that still tops the list of his biggest career shots.
He kept the rest of it easy, saying the power just happens and that he takes the same approach against every pitcher.
The One Reason to Keep Watching
The season around him has gone quiet, with the Reds eliminated from postseason contention and designated hitter Eugenio Suárez and outfielder TJ Friedl having already passed through waivers unclaimed.
De La Cruz is the argument for tuning in anyway, and he does not need a pennant race to make his case.
He is hitting .286 with a career-high 27 homers and 26 steals, so a 30-30 season is still in reach with 11 games left, and he is doing it while young bats like first baseman Sal Stewart try to prove they belong in the same lineup next year.
The Dodgers can clinch the National League West at Great American Ball Park with a win on Wednesday night, so the star shortstop may get one more chance this week to hit baseballs that nobody can measure properly, and that alone is worth the price of a September ticket.
