(Milwaukee) Elly De La Cruz became the first Reds player since 1919 to steal second base, third base and home plate in the same inning, and Cincinnati’s new roster sensation propelled his team to an 8-5 victory over Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
De La Cruz broke a 5–5 tie in the seventh inning with a two-run single after two outs against Elvis Peguero.
He stole second base on a kick from Peguero (1-2) with the score at 1-1. On the next drive, De La Cruz stole third without a pitch.
Shaken, the reliever caught the ball from his receiver in front of the mound and turned, walking slowly towards the mound. De La Cruz stopped only to put his helmet back on and began to drive along the third base line before finally speeding up and passing Peguero’s pitch to home plate.
De La Cruz jumped up and down on the bench, celebrating with his teammates. Peguero retired Joey Votto to end the inning, but was booed by spectators on his way back to the dugout.
De La Cruz became only the second player in the post-expansion era, starting in 1961, to steal three bases in the same hit. Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins accomplished the feat on May 18, 1969 against the Detroit Tigers.
The last player to steal three bases in one inning was Jon Berti of the Miami Marlins on August 25, 2020 against the New York Mets.
The Reds were 27-33 when De La Cruz was called up from the minors on June 6. Since then, they’ve won 23 of their 30 games and lead the Brewers two games at the top of the National’s Central Division.
De La Cruz stole 16 goals in 30 games. He was 2 for 5 at bat on Saturday, improving to . 328.
