De La Cruz gets last laugh on suspicious Nats (updated)

Whether it was a display of gamesmanship meant to rattle a talented rookie or genuine concern about the device Elly De La Cruz had wrapped around the knob of his bat, Davey Martinez and the Nationals’ actions in the top of the second this evening didn’t produce anything close to a desired result for the home team.

Not only was De La Cruz ultimately allowed to use the device, he used it while launching a gargantuan home run to right-center and then immediately pointed at it before circling the bases, the defining moment of the Nats’ ugly, 9-2 loss to the Reds on a long, muggy night of unsightly baseball on South Capitol Street.

De La Cruz, the sport’s top-rated prospect one month ago and now the face of Cincinnati’s sudden resurgence to the top of the National League Central division, had his way with the Nationals for the second straight day.

The Nats? They lost their third straight to open this four-game series, not to mention their 13th loss in their last 14 home games despite having gone 6-3 on the road in between all that.

"We can't give teams those extra outs," Martinez said after watching his team commit two errors and allow four stolen bases. "Every time we do that, it comes back and bites us."

Tonight’s affair featured more poor pitching, more poor defense and more poor clutch hitting. But it will be remembered above all else for the knob of De La Cruz’s bat and the hubbub it caused.

The drama began as the top of the second was set to begin. While De La Cruz stepped to the plate to lead off the inning, Martinez called plate umpire Quinn Wolcott over to the dugout and asked for De La Cruz’s bat to be inspected. After a lengthy examination by the entire umpiring crew that included a conversation with league headquarters in New York, Wolcott informed the Reds rookie he needed to remove the clear casing he had covering the knob of his bat.

Crew chief Adrian Johnson later explained to a pool reporter De La Cruz was asked to remove the casing not because it was deemed illegal, but because Major League Baseball had not yet provided an answer about its legality.

"It’s something we hadn’t dealt with before," Johnson said. "So we used the tool we have, the rules check, to contact replay, which is in the league office, asking about the attachment. It took quite a while for them to get back to us. We had to continue to play, to keep the game going."

That particular casing typically includes a device that tracks various swing metrics, one that is becoming increasingly popular with ballplayers at lower levels of the sport but isn't necessary in the big leagues, which has Statcast data instantly available in every park. De La Cruz, who has been using the casing since he reached the majors, appears to prefer it for the comfort it provides his hands, and doesn't actually use the tracking device inside.

"That was just the casing," Johnson said of what De La Cruz was using tonight. "The actual attachment has a sensor that goes in it, but the sensor was not in it.”

De La Cruz finished out first at-bat without the casing, striking out on a 3-2 slider from Josiah Gray. His teammates, however, proceeded to score three runs before the inning concluded, getting a solo homer from Joey Votto, then back-to-back RBI doubles from Tyler Stephenson and Will Benson following a throwing error by third baseman Jeimer Candelario that prolonged the inning.

When De La Cruz was due to bat again the next inning, the umpires finally had heard from MLB the casing was approved and informed Reds manager David Bell his young slugger could use it again.

A short while later, Major League Baseball released a statement that read: “The conversations during the game regarded a rules check involving equipment – specifically the housing on the knob of the bat. The housing used by the player is permissible and approved, which was communicated to the Nationals.”

Rule 6.06(d) states that a batter is out for illegal action and shall be ejected from the game if he “uses or attempts to use a bat that, in the umpire’s judgment, has been altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distance factor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball.”

Martinez said he first noticed De La Cruz using the casing during Tuesday's game. Once informed tonight that MLB had approved it, he took no issue with the 21-year-old continuing to use it.

"I know what the device is, but I've never seen nobody wear it during the game," the Nats manager said. "So I just went out, and I even told (Wolcott): 'I'm not trying to make a big deal about it, but he's wearing this thing on his bat.' So they checked it, and when they came back and told me 'Hey, it's legal,' it was all good. It was over. It was done with. Apparently, he uses it for, like, a part of a handle. It's all good. I'm not going to make a big deal about it."

De La Cruz would most certainly get the last laugh when he launched a slider from Gray some 455 feet into the second deck in right-center for a leadoff homer in the fifth, then immediately pointed to the casing on the knob of his bat before circling the bases.

"I'm not trying to penalize this kid, I'm not," Martinez said. "I love the way he plays the game. I didn't like his antics after he hit the home run. We can do without that. He's only got two weeks in the big leagues. But he's gonna be a good player."

De La Cruz's blast gave the Reds a 5-1 lead and was the final blow of the night off Gray, who muddled his way through five laborious innings. The right-hander, coming off back-to-back strong starts that helped him earn the first All-Star selection of his career, now heads to Seattle having surrendered five runs (three earned) on eight hits, four walks and two homers, having thrown only 55 of his 102 pitches for strikes.

"There in the fifth, I felt a little bit gassed," Gray said. "I felt like my stuff was a little bit flat today, but all in all, two bad pitches. One to De La Cruz, and one to Votto. If I don't make those pitches, or if I locate them where I want them, it's a different ballgame."

Gray’s teammates didn’t do much to help his cause tonight, both in the field – they committed two errors – and at the plate, where they put themselves in prime position to make some early noise but once again squandered it.

Seven of the Nationals’ first nine batters reached base against Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft, who entered with a 6.66 ERA. Only one of them scored, and that occurred not via hit, walk or productive out, but rather a wild pitch that brought Lane Thomas home from third base.

They loaded the bases via three straight singles in the bottom of the second, then failed to score any of them when Thomas popped up and Luis García grounded into a double play. They would not score another run off Ashcraft, who completed six innings on 98 pitches.

"Those are big and good at-bats for us, and we've just got to execute," García said. "In reality, unfortunately, we haven't been doing it as a whole, and we've had a few opportunities. But at the end of the day, those are our at-bats that we have to execute better."

The Nationals would also see the Reds expand their lead via four runs off Joe La Sorsa, who over the course of two laborious innings of relief surrendered six hits and two walks, balked in a run and was left to throw 51 pitches before he was finally pulled from the game.