Cincinnati Reds rookie Eli DeLaCruz (21) made an incredible throw to prevent an inside-the-park home run.
De La Cruz started at third base and went 0-for-4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 28 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. While he was silent at the plate, he made an incredible play on defense.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with Arizona up 1-0, Corbin Carroll took a three-pitch, 88.5-mile-per-hour (142.4 km/h) slider from Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft and crushed it directly into center field. Center fielder T.J. Friedle threw himself out to catch the ball but couldn’t, and by the time Friedle did, Carroll had already rounded second base and was approaching third.
Friedle fired to shortstop De La Cruz, who made a strong throw to home plate to catch Carroll as he raced home. De La Cruz’s throw was right on the mark for catcher Tyler Stephenson, who easily threw Carroll out.
Carroll had reached a maximum speed of 33 kilometers per hour, but De La Cruz’s throw was faster. De La Cruz sniped Carroll with a powerful fastball that reached 99.7 miles per hour (160.5 kilometers per hour).
“It was a battle of rookies against rookies, speed against shoulders at Chase Field,” said MLB.com. De La Cruz stops Carroll’s inside-the-park home run,” describing the intense play.
Cincinnati manager David Bell said, “It’s a great play. In most situations, Carroll would have been able to hit an inside-the-park home run. So I can understand why he ran home. TJ made a perfect play and Ellie made an unbelievable throw. And then Tyler made the tag to complete the play.”온라인카지노
De La Cruz also hit a powerful 99.8 mph (160.6 km/h) fastball against San Francisco on July 21. According to MLB.com, “Since making his big league debut on June 7, De La Cruz has eight infield bombs over 95 mph (152.9 km/h). That’s twice as many as any player since Statcast was introduced. Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego) is second with four.”
“It’s a great effort,” Bell said, “and it takes a lot to make a play like that. You have to be in good position and you have to make that throw. I’m not surprised that she made that play because she was expecting it. She was in a good position to make a great serve.”