“It’s awesome to have the recognition,” De La Cruz said in a pregame interview in Baltimore. “It’s really just a start to what we’re trying to accomplish here, and we’re going to continue doing that throughout the rest of the season.”
De La Cruz hit .440 (11-for-25) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, five RBIs, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, an .880 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage in six games last week. He’s hitting .333 (23-for-69) with 10 RBIs and three home runs through 17 games.
De La Cruz became the first player since 1900 with at least 20 hits, five stolen bases and three home runs in his first 15 games.
De La Cruz hit for the cycle on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at Great American Ball Park against the Atlanta Braves, becoming the seventh player in franchise history to record that feat and the first since Eric Davis in 1989.
De La Cruz doubled in the first, homered in the third, singled in the fifth and tripled in the sixth. At that point, he was 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
De La Cruz became the fifth-youngest player in big-league history to hit for the cycle. He became the youngest player since 1901 to hit for the cycle and steal a base in the same game.
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