Reds’ Elly De La Cruz ruins Teoscar Hernandez’s inside-the-park HR attempt with dime throw

The contest between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night is as tight as it gets, with the score being tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning at the time of writing. The game is currently in a deadlock thanks to Reds star Elly De La Cruz, who spoiled Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez’s fun in the bottom of the third.

Hernandez worked his way to a 3-1 count against Reds starter Nick Lodolo, and he proceeded to tattoo a meatball of a fastball straight towards center field. This ball dropped in a hurry, and Dane Myers felt as though he had to dive to catch the ball. However, Myers whiffed on the catch, and the ball rolled towards the warning track.

This gave Hernandez the encouragement to try for an inside the park home run as Myers scampered to chase the baseball. De La Cruz then came over to center to catch the relay throw, and with Hernandez rounding the third base corner and making a beeline for home plate, the Reds shortstop threw a bullet towards home plate to stop the Dodgers outfielder in his tracks.

Teoscar Hernandez goes for the inside-the-park home run and Elly De La Cruz throws him out at the plate! pic.twitter.com/JgFlanuI6P

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 9, 2026

A pinpoint throw was necessary to catch Hernandez at home plate, and De La Cruz fired a bullet at around 105.3 mph to nail the Dodgers outfielder and rob him of an inside-the-park home run. De La Cruz was also responsible for tying the game in the top of the third inning, hitting a two-run home run off of Tarik Skubal.

Suffice to say, De La Cruz can do it all from the field. He does make a few errors here and there, but he can be a true five-tool player at times, and this play is just another piece of evidence pointing to that fact.

Now, all the Reds must do is capitalize on the momentum they have as they try to win the second game of a three-game set against the reigning World Series champion.

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