Reds All-Star Elly De La Cruz abruptly exited Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.
De La Cruz was removed in the bottom of the fifth inning as Cincinnati took on the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park.
The injury occurred as De La Cruz was batting and hit a line drive between Braves center fielder Michael Harris II and right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr.
De La Cruz could then be seen successfully running to first base — and initially appeared to consider going for second — before he could be seen visibly grimacing in pain. Afterwards, the 24-year-old then walked back to first base, before immediately being pulled off the field for further medical evaluation.
It remains unknown how severe the injury is, although Reds manager Terry Francona said after the game that De La Cruz is scheduled to get an MRI tomorrow.
"He's a pretty miraculous kid. Let's just wait and see what happens"
Terry Francona says Elly De La Cruz caught his hamstring tightness before it got bad. He'll get a scan tomorrow morning.
Elly hasn't missed a game since 2024.@WLWT pic.twitter.com/KtZRB5HTm9
De La Cruz, for his part, brushed off concerns about the hamstring tightness in an interview with reporters after the game.
"I don't believe it is something bad. I really don't."
Elly, with the help of his translator, says he's optimistic today's early exit was out of precaution and won't be a long term issue.@WLWT | 📺: Reds TV pic.twitter.com/iTVfSIgjIz
“I don’t believe that it is something bad,” said De La Cruz through a translator. “I really don’t. Obviously, we’re going to see what the MRI says tomorrow, but I don’t feel like it’s something really bad at this moment.”
The Reds would ultimately go on to beat the Braves 6-4 in their series finale matchup, allowing Cincinnati to avoid a sweep after losing their previous two games to Atlanta.
Matt McLain then took over at shortstop for De La Cruz for the remainder of the game. McLain also served as a pinch-runner throughout the fifth inning immediately after the exit.
De La Cruz, a two-time All-Star, has played in every game this season with the Reds. He has put up a batting average of .232 this season so far, with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.
The Reds are next scheduled to play the Kansas City Royals at 7:10 p.m. at home on Monday. It still remains unknown if De La Cruz will play in the game.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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