Elly De La Cruz had a message for the Washington Nationals after hitting a home run against them on Wednesday night.
De La Cruz came up to bat in the second inning for his first plate appearance of the game. Before he could get started in the box against Josiah Gray, the Nationals requested that the umpires check De La Cruz’s bat. Washington was concerned about a tracking device under the knob of the Reds shortstop’s bat.
Dave Martinez and the Nationals had umpires check @Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz's bat before his plate appearance in a confusing start to the second inning. pic.twitter.com/f4AZdZxpGi
— FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati (@FanDuelSN_CIN) July 5, 2023
The device below the knob was removed, and De La Cruz was cleared to bat. The emerging star struck out in the at-bat.
De La Cruz came up again in the third and flew out. But in the fifth, things changed. De La Cruz led off the inning with a home run to right that was estimated to travel 455 feet.
After hitting his home run, De La Cruz looked at the Nats’ dugout and pointed to the knob of his bat, as if to say “check this.”
Check this out @ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/zRtZZjOScs
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 6, 2023
Perhaps the youngster was offended by Washington’s move.
De La Cruz struck out in his fourth at-bat, but he doubled and then stole third in the eighth. The 21-year-old prospect is one of three players on a young Reds team who is batting over .300 this season.
