Reds speedster Elly De La Cruz circles the bases in under 15 SECONDS for a rare inside-the-park home run having already launched a 450-foot rocket to center field in Cincinnati's win over Milwaukee

The slow start to Elly De La Cruz's 2024 season ended abruptly on Monday as the Cincinnati Reds infielder registered a pair of very different home runs: A dazzling inside-the-park job and a 450-foot bomb that briefly looked destined for the banks of the Ohio River.

The homers are the first two of the current campaign for De La Cruz, who has been criticized in 2024 for everything from his defense to his poor pitch selection.

The 22-year-old native Dominican lifted his average to a healthy .297 with three hits in Monday's dramatic 10-8 win over the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers. He also stole his sixth base of the season – better than all but Brewers second baseman Brice Turang's seven.

But nothing on Monday could quite compare to De La Cruz's electric inside-the-park home run.

Not only did he round the bases in under 15 seconds, but De La Cruz wasn't even hustling out of the box and still managed to score on the ball that got by a diving Sal Frelick in center before rolling to the warning track.

Elly De La Cruz (left) poses for a photo with Hunter Greene (center) and Jeimer Candelario

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz watches his solo home run land 450 feet away in dead center

De La Cruz reacts after hitting an inside-the-park home run against the Milwaukee Brewers i

'The whole bench was yelling home run as soon as they saw the ball get by,' Reds manager David Bell told reporters afterwards. 'It's an exciting play. Every second is exciting. But there weren't that many seconds.'

Frelick took a definite risk in diving for the ball, but for Brewers manager Pat Murphy, that was a risk he was willing to take given De La Cruz's wheels.

'I've got no problem with Sal diving for that ball, knowing who the hitter is,' Murphy told reporters afterwards. 'The Reds' speed we've been dealing with the last number of years. It's a very good weapon for them.'

'I think running around the bases [is my biggest thrill],' said De La Cruz, who has recently started using English in interviews rather than an interpreter. 'When I saw him miss the ball, I say, 'I'm going home.' It is my mentality. I always think about the extra base.'

And that was just one of De La Cruz's homers on Monday.

It took Elly De La Cruz 14.96 seconds to run 360 feet around the bases on Monday 

The other landed in the middle of the hitter's eye at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park, allowing De La Cruz a bit more time to admire the longball.

'The first (home run) was on the pitch I was looking for,' De La Cruz said of the fifth-inning dinger.

After a brilliant start to his career in 2023, De La Cruz struggled down the stretch before finishing the season with a disappointing .300 on-base percentage and a .235 average.

His 35 stolen bases were a pleasant surprise, but they hardly made up for De La Cruz’s 144 strikeouts in 388 at-bats.

Unfortunately, De La Cruz’s strikeout rate has actually gone up this year as he’s whiffed in 46 percent of his at-bats, compared to 36 percent in 2023.

It was all part of a remarkable day for the 6-4 Reds as right fielder Will Benson also homered and Spencer Steer had two RBIs.

'It is incredible, but we're looking at the work to get Elly into that position,' Bell said. 'He has been working so hard. It is nice to see it pay off.'

The Reds led 8-0 after four innings and 9-3 after five. And the Brewers nearly rallied for an improbable win.

Milwaukee's Brice Turang hit a two-run homer in the fifth and a two-run double in the sixth. Christian Yelich's two-run shot in the seventh — his fourth homer of the season — got the Brewers within one.

Trailing 10-8 in the ninth, Milwaukee had runners on the corners with two out. But Alexis Díaz earned his second save when he retired Rhys Hoskins on a fly ball to right.

Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates with Will Benson after hitting a solo home run

Milwaukee third baseman Joey Ortiz committed two of the team's three errors, and Cincinnati scored four unearned runs.

Benson's second homer of the season lifted Cincinnati to a 2-0 lead in the second. It was his first career homer off a left-hander.

Benson added an RBI double in the fourth and scored on Steer's double, helping the Reds build an 8-0 advantage.

Aaron Ashby (0-1) was charged with eight runs, four earned, and six hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the year for the Brewers. The left-hander missed last season following shoulder surgery.

Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft (1-1) shut out Milwaukee in the first four innings, and then faltered. He permitted six runs, five earned, and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Stuart Fairchild gave the Reds a lift when he robbed Willy Adames of a solo homer with a leaping grab in right in the sixth. Fairchild also walked twice and scored a run.