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The ‘torpedo bat’ has been the talk of baseball, and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz used it for the first time on Monday. He gave it a rave review after the game against the Texas Rangers.
“It feels good. It feels really good,” Elly De La Cruz said, via Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati.
De La Cruz said that he used it for the first time during batting practice in batting practice on Monday. It appears that De La Cruz did not need much time to adjust, as the results were great, with him going 4-for-5 with seven RBI in the Reds’ 14-3 win.
In De La Cruz’s first at-bat, he singled in the first inning against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker and came around to score on a Gavin Lux double. In the next inning, De La Cruz connected on a three-run home run, also off of Rocker. In his third at-bat, he flew out to center field, before adding a two-run double in his fourth at-bat. In his last at-bat, De La Cruz hit his second home run of the game.
Obviously, the bat brought great results for De La Cruz. It will be interesting to see how many players adopt this across MLB. With the New York Yankees having a great weekend while many utilized the torpedo bats, and De La Cruz putting together this performance, there are at least some positive results in a small sample size. However, De La Cruz has proved to be a star player, and a game like this is not abnormal.
It will be interesting to see how De La Cruz follows up on this performance, as the Reds will face the Rangers again on Tuesday. Nathan Eovaldi will be the starting pitcher for the Rangers, with Carson Spiers taking the mound for the Reds.
More must-reads:
- Red Sox top prospect to undergo season-ending wrist surgery
- Did Phillies' pitching problems just get worse?
- The 'Most multi-HR games by MLB team' quiz
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