De La Cruz crushes homer, has Clemente-like relay home in 3-2 loss

LOS ANGELES -- As Elly De La Cruz rounded third base in the top of the third on Tuesday night, he didn’t just look toward his teammates waiting in the dugout. He pointed a finger directly toward the seats behind home plate, locking eyes with his brother, who was watching from the stands as the Reds shortstop put on a show in Chavez Ravine.

Cincinnati’s 24-year-old centerpiece unloaded on a first-pitch, 87.5 mph changeup from Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal, sending a Statcast-projected 444-foot rocket soaring into left-center field to tie the game before the Reds ultimately dropped a 3-2 decision to Los Angeles.

The two-run blast bested a July 12 launch by Shohei Ohtani by seven feet to become the longest home run hit at Dodger Stadium so far during the 2026 season, while matching De La Cruz's single-season career high with his 25th big fly and extending his home run streak to four consecutive games.

"I thought it was a good pitch to hit," De La Cruz said of the blast. "We always want to come out with a win, but it feels good to do the job."

The home run erased Cincinnati's early deficit, but De La Cruz was far from done in the third. Before the frame was over, he found another way to leave his mark on the game.

In the bottom of the frame, Teoscar Hernández lined a ball into center field that skipped all the way to the outfield gate. As Hernández rounded third, third-base coach Dino Ebel waved him home. De La Cruz gathered the relay from left fielder JJ Bleday, turned and uncorked a legendary strike to catcher Jose Trevino to gun down Hernández at the plate.

While speculation immediately buzzed about whether the cannon shot touched triple digits on the radar system, the sheer spectacle of the throw left everyone stunned.

"That was one of the better throws you'll ever see, I mean, ever," manager Terry Francona said. "I know I turn on the old things and you see Dave Parker or somebody making throws or Clemente; they might be showing that one [now]."

"Every time he throws a ball, it's an absolute rocket," starting pitcher Nick Lodolo added. "It was a great throw, and it was a great pick by Trevi to stay with that and make the tag. A lot of credit to both guys there."

As for De La Cruz, when asked about the potential velocity on the play, the shortstop took a more modest view of his arm strength.

"I thought it was like 98, 99 [mph]," De La Cruz said. "I didn't know; it was not hard."

While De La Cruz generated the night's biggest moments, Lodolo fought through a demanding outing on the mound in front of his hometown Southern California crowd

The left-hander worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out six across 97 pitches.

After surrendering a solo homer to Will Smith in the first, Lodolo's biggest obstacle arrived in the second, when a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch forced home a run, but he was able to escape without allowing further damage. Yet, despite fighting his command early, Francona saw clear improvement in his efficiency through the middle innings before a two-out single by Teoscar Hernández in the fifth ended the southpaw's night.

"I thought early he wasn't commanding," Francona said. "As he got into the third, fourth, fifth, I actually thought he was better, and I was kind of fighting it [leaving him in] because I know Hernández wasn't a great matchup, but I really wanted him to get through that fifth. I thought it would have been really good for him, [but then] he reached out and poked a 3-1 changeup into right."

For Lodolo, the evaluation of his evening came down to those early execution issues on the mound.

“Too many free passes on my part," Lodolo admitted. "That's what led to the runs outside of the good hit by Smith in the first. Overall, got to limit the free passes. My stuff is great, just gotta limit that and make them work a little bit more."

The loss halted a strong run for the Reds, who had entered the week having won three consecutive series over the Cubs, Padres and Brewers. Cincinnati will look to avoid a sweep and salvage Wednesday night's finale against the Dodgers.