Elly De La Cruz scores game winner as Cincinnati Reds beat St. Louis Cardinals, win series

ST. LOUIS — And on the sixth day, Elly De La Cruz reached base four times.

And almost singlehandedly beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Well, single-leggedly.

One day after he declared “I’m the fastest man in the world,” the Cincinnati Reds’ rookie sensation used the majors’ top sprint speed to manufacture the tying and winning runs in the late innings of a 4-3 victory that gave the Reds their first series victory in their last five tries at Busch Stadium.

So how about that speed a day later?

“(Even) faster today,” De La Cruz said.

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That was, in fact, true.

He was clocked at 31.2 feet per second on his infield single in the first inning.

“It’s just a different level of speed,” manager David Bell said.

And the most impressive contributions from the sixth-day big-leaguer came after that top-end sprint in his first at-bat:

He singled up the middle with two outs to drive in the tying run in the third, then after the Cards regained the lead, he walked on the eighth pitch of the at-bat from veteran starter Adam Wainwright leading off the sixth, stole second, took third on a fly to center and scored on Tyler Stephenson’s two-out single to right to tie it again.

Then in the eighth, he led off with another walk against triple-digit reliever Jordan Hicks, took second on a grounder to third, took third on a passed ball and then scored from third on Stephenson’s sharp one-hopper to the drawn-in shortstop.

“That run was all speed,” Bell said. “To be able to beat that play, going on contact there, on a solid hit ball, to a really good shortstop with a good arm, and he just outran the throw. It’s pretty incredible.”

Paul DeJong’s ensuing throw to the plate was just wide to the first-base side as De La Cruz slid headfirst, and catcher Willson Contreras’ sweeping tag was not in time, losing the ball from his mitt along the way for good measure.

“I was just as shocked (as everyone else),” Stephenson said. “I turned around and I see safe, and I’m like, ‘What in the —‘ “

It clinched a fourth series victory in the last five for a high-energy team that has only ramped it up since De La Cruz’s debut on Tuesday.

In his six games, he’s already 8-for-22 (.364) with a double, triple, homer, five walks, seven runs scored, four RBIs and three steals in three tries.

He has 10 strikeouts and has hit only two balls out of the infield in that last four of those six. But he turned three of the five balls he’s hit on the ground to infielders the last four days into base hits, and he’s 7-for-11 on balls in play.

“The speed is incredible and it gives you more incentive to put the ball in play,” Bell said. “He’s not going to cut down his swing or give up anything just to put it in play. But when he can put it in play he does. He has the ability to beat it out. And at any time that can lead to a run.”

The five walks, including two against veteran pitchers with much different mixes, has also stood out in De La Cruz’s first week.

“It’s going to be a process for sure,” Bell said. “But he came here as ready as you can be.

"And there’s no question that you continue to develop at this level,” he added, “and you have to continue to learn and make adjustments. You get to a point where you need to be challenged, and the guys that belong here and are going to stay here and be good players here find a way to keep improving while they’re here. So far he’s shown a real good ability to be able to do that and still be ready to hit at the same time.”

The Reds are 4-2 since De La Cruz made the franchise’s most anticipated debut since Jay Bruce 15 years ago.

With back-to-back wins to close the Cardinals series, they’re 24-20 since stumbling to that 7-15 start to the season, as they head to Kansas City for the second leg of a long road trip that concludes in Houston.

That record in the last 44 games is the only winning mark in the National League Central over that span, by a lot.

The next-best team in the division since April 24 is the Pittsburgh Pirates at 18-23 after their win over the New York Mets on Sunday.

No wonder general manager Nick Krall said he’s “not ruling anything out” when it comes to the possibility of buying at the trade deadline for a playoff push.

The Reds won Sunday in the return to the rotation of rising ace Hunter Greene, who skipped a start because of a sore hip.

Greene pitched around enough trouble early to nurse a 3-3 game one out deep into the sixth before giving way to the bullpen.

He has a 2.08 ERA in his last three starts after an up-and-down start to his season through 10 starts.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz scores game winner in Greene's return