Breaking down Brennan's double play ... from the outfield

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Guardians right fielder Will Brennan didn’t think Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz would run.

The Guardians faced their first predicament in the sixth inning of the opener of the Ohio Cup on Tuesday night. Starter Logan Allen had thrown five strong innings, but as he tried to hold on to a two-run lead, a walk and a single by De La Cruz put runners on first and second with no outs. That was, until a routine fly ball to Brennan kept momentum in Cleveland’s favor.

Spencer Steer served a soft, looping fly ball a foot in front of the warning track in the right-field corner. Brennan knew he had no chance at getting the runner who would be tagging up at second base to advance to third based on how deep he was in the outfield.

“So, you’re trying to throw your best bullet to second,” Brennan said.

In most cases, maybe Brennan is just trying to get the ball in as quickly as possible. But when it comes to the Reds, anything can be on the table. Cincinnati entered the night with the most stolen bases in the Majors. And when the runner on first is the biggest speed threat in the game, it only heightens the chances that chaos could ensue.

De La Cruz ranks in the 100th percentile in sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant. Of course, he wanted to run. If he was successful at tagging up from first base to second, he’d put the tying run in scoring position with only one out. But it came at the risk of trying to advance to second base on a fly ball to the right fielder.

“I’ve never really encountered someone that would do that in that situation,” Brennan said. “But you know that they’re an aggressive baserunning team and they’re going to take chances. So, again, you have to be ready for that scenario, especially with this team.”

As the ball landed in Brennan’s glove, De La Cruz took off at a sprint speed of 29.8 feet per second, just .2 feet per second slower than Statcast’s elite speed category. And Brennan had to react quickly.

“De La Cruz has I think the fastest wheels in the game,” Brennan said. “So I just tried to keep it low, make sure that they put a good tag on him and credit to our middle infield. They always do that. Just trying to throw your best bullet. There’s no real thought process because as you think, you bobble the ball.”

Statcast did not record the velocity of Brennan’s throw, but when the one-hopper to shortstop Gabriel Arias was in time to throw out the speedy De La Cruz, it was clear that it was a rocket.

“That was a really heads up play all the way around,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “If he just puts his head down or if he takes a step, because I don’t think it was a bad play by their guy. … That’s the kind of baseball [De La Cruz] plays and Will was ready for it, fortunately.”