The young shortstop remains confident in the Cincinnati Reds' future outlook even though the club suffered a 14-1 blowout loss on Wednesday night.
Elly De La Cruz crushed it at the plate in typical fashion for the Cincinnati Reds during their Wednesday finale against the back-to-back defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, launching a solo homer to center field in the fourth.
That was all Cincinnati's bats could muster against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto who was locked in from the get-go, striking out 10 batters while only allowing three hits and a single earned run through seven innings pitched.
Still, De La Cruz expressed his optimism in the Reds' future outlook even though the club fell to 69-77 overall and nine games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.
"I don't know what moves they're gonna do for next year. But any moves they make, I think we've got a chance," he told Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
With the Reds struggling to find life, the Dodgers struck first in the second when a groundout by Alex Freeland drove in Teoscar Hernández for the lead which they built on from there.
Mookie Betts joined in the frenzy during the third, taking Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder deep for a two-run shot to left-center field.
Unfazed by De La Cruz's big hit, L.A. erupted for three more runs to force Lowder out of the game during the fourth for reliever Luis Mey who didn't fare any better when Kiké Hernández came home off a wild pitch and Teoscar Hernández brought in Will Smith and Betts with a two-run single to extend the lead to 9-1.
Max Muncy continued the barrage in the sixth, crushing a two-run homer to right field. Kiké Hernández further ravaged the Reds' bullpen in the seventh with another two-run blast to put the matchup well out of Cincinnati's grasp.
Kyle Tucker wrapped up the rally in the eighth with a solo shot to right-center while Tyler Stephenson attempted a last-ditch effort in the ninth with a single. Nonetheless, Dodgers reliever Seth Halvorsen held on for two-consecutive outs to put an end to the Reds' misery.
Even as Cincinnati had their streak of two-straight series wins snapped this week, De La Cruz has given them a lot to be hopeful about for next season and beyond with his team-best .283 hitting average and .362 on-base percentage.
Besides his offense, the young shortstop has also been a menace in the infield with his elite arm which nabbed Teoscar Hernández who tried for an inside-the-park home run during the third of Tuesday's matchup.
De La Cruz should get his next opportunity to shine in the Reds' upcoming three-game series against the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers starting on Friday night at 7:45 p.m. EDT.
