Elly De La Cruz dazzles in debut, Reds beat Dodgers on Matt McLain walk-off

Elly De La Cruz was called up to the majors earlier on Tuesday when Nick Senzel hit the injured list, and the most ridiculously talented prospect in the sport wasted little time in putting his complete game on display. He showed off elite sprint speed after coaxing an impressive walk in his first trip to the plate, smoked a 112 mph laser of a double in his next, and even showed off his cannon of an arm on a grounder while playing 3B.

That 112 mph double, for the record, is the hardest hit ball by any Red so far this season. And he walked twice, meaning De La was on-base three times on the night - and three is the magic number.

The co-winner of the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game tonight will surely be taking home these awards often in the near future, too. He’ll have to share it with Matt McLain, however, as his fellow rookie stepped up in the Bottom of the 9th with a sock to the wall that scored the game’s winning run as the Reds rallied back to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 in impressive fashion.

McLain capped a 3-hit night with a blast to the wall in CF with the bases loaded after the Reds had stormed back against Caleb Ferguson in the Bottom of the 9th, a ‘single’ that would’ve scored more if needed.

Luke Weaver was hit hard early, and a Freddie Freeman slam yielded by Alex Young after Weaver had left with the bases loaded put the Reds in a hole from which it initially appeared they could not recover, though they once again scratched and clawed their way back to within earshot to give McLain the chance to do his damage late. The end result was a resounding 9-8 victory, one that anyone in attendance won’t soon forget.

Tony Graphanino

[Link to interactive WPA chart & box score, via FanGraphs]

Other Notes

• Tyler Stephenson had a 3-hit game, which was damn nice to see.
• Jake Fraley and Jonathan India each went 2 for 5 from their spots atop the order in front of Elly, a tremendous way to stack the top of an order against RHP. Fraley also took a heater off the wrist to load the bags in the 9th (and get McLain to the plate), and the hope is that he’s just fine to keep on raking tomorrow.
• Brandon Williamson and Noah Syndergaard will each start for their respective clubs tomorrow when these two go back at it. First pitch is again set for 7:10 PM ET, giving you an extra half-hour than they used to give you to find your way to the park to watch Elly do some swattin’.
• Tunes.