Elly De La Cruz put another jolt into Cincinnati’s late-season push Wednesday night, driving the Reds past Los Angeles, 6-2, while moving within reach of one of the franchise’s rare 30-homer, 30-steal seasons. With 10 games left, the 24-year-old shortstop sits at 28 home runs and 26 stolen bases.
De La Cruz Closes In on Reds’ 30/30 Company
SEO Title: Elly De La Cruz Nears 30/30 Mark as Reds Beat Dodgers
SEO Description: Elly De La Cruz hit his 28th homer and extended his on-base streak to 23 games as Cincinnati beat the Dodgers 6-2.
De La Cruz went 1-for-3, accepted an intentional walk and scored twice at Cincinnati, where his third-inning homer off reliever Seth Halvorsen erased the Dodgers’ early lead. It was his 23rd straight game reaching base, matching the longest such streak of his career.
The Reds have had only three 30/30 men before him: Eric Davis, who finished with 37 homers and 50 steals in 1987; Barry Larkin, who posted 33 and 36 in 1996; and Brandon Phillips, who delivered 30 and 32 in 2007. Each is in the Reds Hall of Fame, with Larkin also enshrined in Cooperstown.
Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong is the only Major Leaguer to have cleared the 30/30 bar this season, carrying 43 homers and 37 steals. De La Cruz has no room for a leisurely finish, but the recent run suggests he is swinging the bat at the right time.
“We’re lucky he’s wearing our uniform,” Reds starter Andrew Abbott said. “I’ve been around him for years and watched the exciting things he can do. He’s special, a real athlete, a unicorn. He has a long future in this game, and he’s helping us win right now.”
During the 23-game on-base streak, De La Cruz is batting .424 with a 1.273 OPS, eight homers, 17 RBIs and four steals. His work against Los Angeles has been even louder. Cincinnati is only 1-5 against the Dodgers this year, but De La Cruz has hit .429 with a 1.716 OPS, five homers and seven RBIs in those six meetings. The Reds have scored 13 runs against the Dodgers this season, meaning he has directly produced more than half of them.
His career line against Los Angeles spans 25 games: a .302 average, .993 OPS, seven home runs and 14 RBIs.
A Timely Swing After an Unplanned Bullpen Game
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the third when Will Smith lined a one-out double to right, bringing Mookie Betts home from first. Abbott had already spent much of the evening working around trouble, eventually leaving after 4 2/3 innings. He gave up three hits and one run, walked five to tie his season high, and threw 98 pitches in a no-decision.
The game changed course after Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, who had thrown a no-hitter against Cincinnati in 2024, exited after one inning because of left-groin tightness. Los Angeles had to piece together the rest of the night with its relief corps, and De La Cruz quickly made the adjustment count with the go-ahead shot.
“It lets you take a breath,” Abbott said of the Reds answering on offense. “You never relax against that lineup, but when your club is making things happen and taking good at-bats, you can step back in the dugout, make your plan and go execute.”
Dane Myers added a two-out solo homer to right-center in the fifth. Juan Brito followed with a bloop RBI single to right in the sixth, and Sal Stewart brought De La Cruz home in the seventh when his hit glanced off Betts’ glove at shortstop. Stewart’s RBI was his 108th of the season, second-most in the Majors.
Manager Terry Francona pointed to the steadiness in De La Cruz’s setup at the plate. “He’s arriving on time and staying balanced,” Francona said. “When a hitter has that balance, the strike zone gets smaller for him. He creates leverage so well, and he can use the entire field.”
De La Cruz has played through a different kind of year than his 162-game 2025 campaign, when a left quadriceps problem hampered him in the second half. He missed three weeks this season with a right hamstring strain, yet has still appeared in 133 games and carries a .286 average, .885 OPS and 74 RBIs.
He began Wednesday third in the majors with 6.0 WAR, leading all big league shortstops in OPS while ranking third at the position in homers. The 30/30 chase will draw the headlines over the final 10 games, but De La Cruz’s season has built a broader case: one worthy of National League MVP support well beyond the first few names on the ballot.
