Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz homers after bat check by umpires
WASHINGTON -- Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz pointed at the knob of his bat after hitting a 455-foot homer against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night in a reference to the removal of a covering earlier in the game.
De La Cruz went on to add two doubles and a run scored after the home run as the Reds won the game 9-2 to make it three in a row against Washington.
De La Cruz, one of the majors' top rookies and a key engine behind Cincinnati's rise to the top of its division, had an empty sensor cover on the knob of his bat. But it was removed after Nationals manager Dave Martinez questioned its use before the infielder batted in the second.
Umpires reviewed the legality of the knob cover with the league office and informed De La Cruz he was allowed to put it back on his bat for his second at-bat in the third.
"It's something that we use in spring training," De La Cruz said through a translator. "It's just a sensor that we use, but it's just the plastic that covers the bat. There's nothing else besides that. I started using it back in 2021. It just felt more comfortable using that, and from there on out I asked for more of those plastic shells."
After the game, crew chief Adrian Johnson went over the timeline of events after Martinez questioned the use of the knob sensor cover.
"Davey brought up the issue with the attachment on the bat," Johnson told a pool reporter. "It's something we hadn't dealt with before. So, we used the tool we have, the rules check, to contact replay, which is in the league office, asking about the attachment. It took quite a while for them to get back to us.
"We had to continue to play, to keep the game going. They finally got back to us before his next at-bat and said that the attachment was approved. So, he played the rest of the game with the attachment on the bat."
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After flying out to left in the third, De La Cruz opened the fifth with a massive drive to right-center. He then pointed at the end of his bat before rounding the bases.
"Just to tell everybody that the knob is not the reason why I am doing a good job," De La Cruz said of the meaning behind the gesture. "It's because of all the work I'm putting out there."
Martinez had his own thoughts on De La Cruz's celebration.
"I am not trying to penalize this kid. I'm not. I love the way he plays the game," Martinez said. "I didn't like his antics after he hit the home run. We can do without that. He's only got two weeks in the big leagues, but he's going to be a good player."
The Reds have homered in 19 consecutive games for their second-longest streak in franchise history. Cincinnati's longest homer streak was 21 games in 1956.
De La Cruz also doubled, stole third and scored on Jake Fraley's single in the eighth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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