Reds’ Elly De La Cruz hamstring injury brings down vibes of Braves series finale

The Cincinnati Reds came into Sunday’s matchup with the Atlanta Braves looking to avoid a sweep. They are going to leave Atlanta with way bigger problems after an unfortunate turn of events. Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz left the game with a hamstring injury suffered while running the bases.

“Reds SS Elly De La Cruz left today’s game with right hamstring tightness,” the team account posted.

Elly De La Cruz injured himself running to first and has been pulled from the game pic.twitter.com/WTEsMgTwtR

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 31, 2026

In the bottom of the 5th inning, De La Cruz smoked a Spencer Strider fastball to the left-centerfield gap. What should have been an easy double for someone of De La Cruz’s speed was only a single, as he pulled up rounding first base. He hobbled back to the base safely and was quickly removed from the game and replaced by Matt McLain.

De La Cruz continues to be the engine of the Reds’ offense, leading the team in RBI, runs scored, and hits this season. After an unsustainable heater in one-run games to start the season. Cincy is 9-17 in May, worst in the NL Central. That has sent them tumbling into last place in the division, even though they are still over .500.

The Reds have also dealt with a ton of injuries this season, primarily to the pitching staff. Hunter Greene has yet to make a start this season due to an elbow injury, and Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson join him on the IL from the starting rotation. Emilio Pagan and Graham Ashcraft, two of the Reds’ top relievers, are also on the shelf.

The Reds need to get hot to stay in the NL Wild Card race. While there is still two-thirds of the season to play, the NL Central is not slowing down, and Cincinnati may be with these injuries. They host the Kansas City Royals for three games, hopefully with De La Cruz in tow.

The post Reds’ Elly De La Cruz hamstring injury brings down vibes of Braves series finale appeared first on ClutchPoints.