Elly De La Cruz Batting Seventh for Reds on Monday
Elly De La Cruz has been dropped to seventh in the batting order on Monday at Busch Stadium for the series opener against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals and left-hander Matthew Liberatore. This will be the first time all season that De La Cruz has hit anywhere besides third in the lineup. However, the 23-year-old switch-hitter is mired in a slump that has seen him hit just .206/.243/.291 since Aug. 1. The Dominican shortstop has not homered since July 31, and his recent cold stretch has dropped his season slash line to .263/.331/.433 with 19 home runs, 82 RBI, 97 runs and 35 stolen bases in 586 at-bats. The Reds desperately need to get De La Cruz going if they are going to have any chance of sneaking into the final wild-card spot in the National League. He has hit .250 with a home run and a .900 OPS in eight career at-bats against Liberatore.
Source: MLB.com
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Source: MLB.com

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