Elly De La Cruz left Sunday’s 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning with right hamstring tightness and will have an MRI on Monday after he said the issue felt like it could worsen if he kept going.
CINCINNATI — Elly De La Cruz’s day ended the moment his right hamstring started talking to him.
With the Cincinnati Reds leading 3-2 against the Atlanta Braves, De La Cruz singled to right center in the fifth inning. But as he rounded toward first, he felt tightness in his hamstring and stopped immediately, saying he made the choice to avoid turning it into something worse.
“When I was making the turn to get to first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately decided to stop because I felt like if I keep going it could get worse,” De La Cruz said via interpreter Tomas Vera.
He had reached first after hitting a ball into the gap against Braves starter Spencer Strider—contact that normally would have had him thinking double. Instead, De La Cruz grimaced as he arrived at the bag and decided to walk off the field on his own after a brief meeting with training staff.
The Reds held their lead and finished with a 6-4 victory over Atlanta. De La Cruz, though, now sits in uncertainty. He will undergo an MRI on Monday.
Reds manager Terry Francona said the injury was caught early.
“He feels like he caught it before it did anything worse,” Francona said. “Saying that, we’re going to get him scanned at 9 in the morning and we’ll know more.”
De La Cruz’s presence has been a steady force for Cincinnati. He has appeared in 276 consecutive games, the sixth-longest streak for a Reds player in the expansion era (since 1961). The streak began on July 30, 2024.
Still, the tightness came at a moment that forced him to weigh the next step against the risk.
“I don’t believe it is something bad. I really don’t,” De La Cruz said. “We’ll see what the MRI says tomorrow. I don’t feel that bad. I don’t know if I’ll be playing tomorrow. I don’t like to be out of the game.”
Before leaving, De La Cruz was 2 for 2 with two runs scored and a walk. He’s batting .280 this season with 12 home runs.
JJ Bleday, speaking about what De La Cruz means to the team, put the feeling plainly.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” Bleday said. “When everyone thinks Reds right now they’re thinking Elly De La Cruz. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”
For now, Cincinnati’s win didn’t end with celebration. It ended with a tight right hamstring, an MRI scheduled for Monday morning, and a star who said he doesn’t think it’s bad—while also admitting he doesn’t know whether he’ll be back on the field next day.
Elly De La Cruz Cincinnati Reds Atlanta Braves hamstring tightness MRI Terry Francona Spencer Strider JJ Bleday MLB injury news
Hamstring stuff is scary, that’s how injuries get worse fast.
So he left because it “might” get worse? Sounds like they’re being dramatic lol. MRI Monday means it’s probably nothing, right?
Wait did he pull it rounding first or did Strider hit him or something? Headlines make it sound like it started mid-at-bat, but he stopped as he got to first… I’m confused. Either way I hope it’s not another year-ending thing.
Elly is always out there so 276 straight games and then boom hamstring tightness. Terry Francona says “caught it early” but like… tightness is already a problem? Braves fans always talk about Strider being nasty, makes me wonder if it’s his pitch movement or something. MRI at 9am better be good news because Reds don’t feel the same without him.