Another day and another big game for Elly De La Cruz, this time helping lead a rally in the 6th inning that ultimately put the Reds ahead for good. Cincinnati’s 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies earns them at least a split, with a chance to pick up a series win on Thursday afternoon.
Final | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Phillies (15-10) |
4 | 11 | 1 |
Cincinnati Reds (14-10) |
7 | 10 | 1 |
W: Wilson (1-0) L: Dominguez (1-1) SV: Diaz (5) | |||
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread |
Nick Lodolo got himself into some trouble in the top of the 1st inning when he hit Trea Turner with a pitch. Turner stole second base then scored on a single by Alec Bohm to make it 1-0. In the next inning the Phillies picked up a 1-out double and a walk to put two men on, but Lodolo wiggled out of the jam to keep it 1-0. In the 3rd inning he wasn’t as lucky as a leadoff walk came around to haunt him as Kyle Schwarber scored from 1st base on a double by Bohm to push Philadelphia’s lead to 2-0. The Reds offense would get that run back in the bottom of the inning when Will Benson connected on a solo homer that landed in the seats in right center.
Philadelphia was threatening two innings later when they had runners on the corners. Perhaps trying to take a page out of the Reds playbook, Alec Bohm attempted to steal second with Trea Turner ready to take the plate on a throw to second. Tyler Stephenson caught the pitch and faked a thrown to second and Turner bought the fake and broke for home, making it an easy third out of the inning as he was briefly in a rundown before being tagged out heading back to third base.
The 6th inning saw Nick Lodolo give up back-to-back singles to begin the inning, putting runners on the corners. Cincinnati turned to the bullpen and brought in Lucas Sims. He would strike out Cristian Pache for the first out of the inning, but Johan Rojas lined a single into left to bring an insurance run in and put the Phillies up 3-1. After getting a groundout, Sims was replaced on the mound by Justin Wilson to give the Reds a lefty-lefty matchup against Kyle Schwarber and it paid off as the Middletown legend popped up to end the inning.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked to lead off the bottom of the inning and moved up to third on a ground-rule double by Tyler Stephenson. Santiago Espinal then came through with a 2-run single that tied the game up. Stuart Fairchild followed up with a walk and that led to a pitching change for the Phillies. Lefty Matt Strahm didn’t get the job done as Will Benson singled in a run to make it 4-3. Elly De La Cruz then followed up with a ground-rule double that brought in another run to put Cincinnati up by two runs.
Emilio Pagan took over for the Reds in the 7th and things went south in a hurry as he allowed back-to-back singles to start the inning before getting a ground out. But then Whit Merrifield doubled in a run, resulting in a pitching change with two men in scoring position for Fernando Cruz in a 1-run game. Cruz picked up a strikeout before getting some help from Will Benson who made a running grab on the warning track in right field to keep Cincinnati in the lead.
The Reds went back to work in the bottom of the inning. They loaded the bases on singles by Tyler Stephenson and Nick Martini, and a walk from Jeimer Candelario. Santiago Espinal then hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-4 game and give the Cincinnati bullpen the tiniest amount of wiggle room.
Brent Suter took over for Fernando Cruz to start the 8th inning and he sent them back to the dugout in order on just 12 pitches. In the bottom of the frame Elly De La Cruz picked up a single – his third hit of the night – and then proceeded to steal second and third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Steer. Alexis Diaz took the mound for the 9th inning and worked around a single by getting a game ending double play to guarantee at least a series split for the Reds.
Key Moment of the Game
Elly De La Cruz’s ground-rule double in the 6th inning that put the Reds up 5-3.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds stole five bases on the night. Three of them were from Elly De La Cruz, who is leading baseball with 15 of them. His three hits also pushed his line on the season to .313/.412/.651. He has 13 extra-base hits in 24 games.
The bullpen didn’t walk a batter in their four innings of relief.
Will Benson, Tyler Stephenson, and Santiago Espinal all had two hits.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies vs Cincinnati Reds
Thursday April 25th, 1:10pm ET
Zack Wheeler (1-3, 2.30 ERA) vs Nick Martinez (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
The post Cincinnati Reds rally to beat the Phillies 7-4 appeared first on Redleg Nation.