GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Reds All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz isn’t easing his method into Spring Coaching.
That was made clear Saturday when the switch-hitting De La Cruz went 2-for-2 with a pair of solo residence runs slugged from all sides of the plate through the Reds’ 6-3 victory over the Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark.
“We’re able to go,” De La Cruz stated. “Left aspect, proper aspect, it all the time feels good [to homer].”
The Reds have been trailing Cleveland, 2-0, with two outs within the backside of the primary inning when De La Cruz — batting lefty — drove Triston McKenzie’s 2-2 pitch to the berm in right-center subject for his first homer. The blast went a Statcast-projected 450 toes.
Then within the backside of the fourth inning with one out, De La Cruz was batting right-handed when he crushed a primary pitch from lefty Logan Allen and cleared the fence once more, this time a projected 409 toes.
“I used to be simply considering there’s no higher option to begin your season than to go deep from either side of the plate,” Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt stated. “That was fairly spectacular.”
The second homer traveled to right-center subject and landed in almost the identical spot as the primary homer.
“The primary one was a curveball. The second was a fastball,” De La Cruz stated.
In opposition to McKenzie his first time up, De La Cruz was fooled on an earlier breaking ball within the at-bat.
“Yeah, he received fooled on it however should you take a look at it, he made the adjustment, took a breaking ball within the dust, I feel, after which he hit the following one out,” stated Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides, who was appearing supervisor for the split-squad sport. “So it is nice for him to make that adjustment.”
Final yr, De La Cruz hit two homers over 17 Spring Coaching video games.
“Properly, I feel he understands what he is making an attempt to do now,” Benavides stated. “Like final yr, he was simply making an attempt to — [actually] the final couple years — survive and making an attempt to [handle] issues that received quick for him. I feel it is just a little slower. It is his third yr, and he is beginning to determine what it takes and what are the routines and what he’ll do to get higher, as a result of there’s nonetheless a number of enchancment to go.”
De La Cruz, who hit 25 homers and swiped 67 baggage final season, has been hitting the ball arduous throughout this camp — together with throughout a number of dwell batting apply periods.
“I all the time put in arduous work within the offseason. That may come out within the [regular] season,” De La Cruz stated.
