CINCINNATI — Elly De La Cruz smacked a 458-foot drive for his first major league homer, and Will Benson hit a game-ending home run in the ninth that lifted the Cincinnati Reds over Los Angeles 8-6 on Wednesday night and extended the Dodgers' losing streak to a season-high four.
De La Cruz, a 21-year-old switch-hitter who was named baseball's top prospect by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, hit an 0-1 fastball from Noah Syndergaard in the first inning.
The ball left his bat at 114.8 mph and landed in the last rows of the right-field stands at Great American Ball Park for a two-run homer that tied the score at 2-2.
A day after making his big league debut, De La Cruz had the second-hardest-hit home run by a player 21 or younger since Statcast started tracking in 2015, behind only the Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr.