Elly De La Cruz didn’t need to play on Sunday afternoon. Nobody would have blamed him if he opted to take the day off.
But the Cincinnati Reds shortstop, despite just learning about the death of his sister, took the field anyways at Wrigley Field on Sunday. And in the bottom of the sixth inning, he found a perfect way to honor his sister out on the field.
De La Cruz hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, which marked his 12th of the season and the 50th of his career. As he started making his way to home, after hitting the dab with his third base coach, De La Cruz pointed up to the sky and flashed a heart.
De La Cruz also wrote a message to his sister on his hat before the game.
Elly De La Cruz’s older sister died on Saturday in the Dominican Republic. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
(Geoff Stellfox via Getty Images)
The home run put the Reds on the board for the first time on Sunday, and cut the Cubs’ lead down to three. The Cubs, though, added two more runs in the seventh and powered ahead to the 7-3 win.
De La Cruz’s older sister, Genelis De La Cruz Sanchez, died on Saturday in the Dominican Republic after a lengthy battle with multiple health issues, according to . It’s unclear when De La Cruz learned of his sister’s death, but some of his teammates reportedly didn’t know about it just a few hours before Sunday’s game got started.
“We just told him we’ll support whatever he needs to do,” Reds manager Terry Francona said before the game, via the Enquirer. “He wants to play today, and then we’ll go from there.”
De La Cruz had two hits on the day in the loss for the Reds, which dropped them to 29-31 on the season. The team will be back in action on Monday in Cincinnati when they open a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
It’s unclear if De La Cruz will take some time off in the near future to be with his family. But, at least in the immediate aftermath of his loss, the Reds star still found a way to honor his sister in his own unique way.
Read the full article here