Some nights it feels like it’s Elly De La Cruz’s world and we’re all just living in it. Tuesday night was one of those nights as the 22-year-old made several highlight reel plays in the field, picked up his league best 12th stolen base, and he homered as the Cincinnati Reds topped the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 to even up the series.
Final | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Phillies (15-9) |
1 | 5 | 3 |
Cincinnati Reds (13-10) |
8 | 9 | 1 |
W: Cruz (1-1) L: Sanchez (1-3) | |||
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread |
Andrew Abbott got the first two hitters of the game out with ease, but then J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm hit back-to-back doubles to put the Phillies up 1-0. The Reds were able to get that run back in the bottom half of the frame on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand RBI double.
Two innings later the Cincinnati offense got back to work. Tyler Stephenson walked and came around to score on a single by Encarnacion-Strand, who moved up to third base on a throwing error on the play. Elly De La Cruz followed with a walk and then stole second base. Nick Martini hit a grounder up the middle, but both runners scored and he took second base on an error. Santiago Espinal then capped off the inning with an RBI single of his own, making it 5-1.
Andrew Abbott took his new lead and threw a perfect 4th inning. But when he came back out for the 5th he was struggling to find the strikezone and walked the bases loaded with no outs. That brought Kyle Schwarber to the plate and Abbott won the left-on-left matchup with a strikeout, but it was the last hitter he could face. Cincinnati turned to Fernando Cruz to try and strand all three runners. That plan worked out as he struck out Trea Turner and then got J.T. Realmuto to fly out to center to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 5th inning the Reds got yet another hit from Christian Encarnacion-Strand – hit third of the day – before Elly De La Cruz clobbered a 2-run home run into the seats in left-center to make it a 7-1 game. The next inning De La Cruz made a nice play on a short hop chopper to turn an inning-ending double play. An inning later he made another highlight reel catch.
Covered 112 feet of ground like it was nothing… pic.twitter.com/S3b3OXTBnf
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 24, 2024
After Buck Farmer threw two shutout innings of relief, Cincinnati turned the game over to Emilio Pagan in the 8th with a 6-run lead. He tossed a perfect top of the 8th inning. In the bottom of the inning the Reds padded their lead when Santiago Espinal connected for his first homer of the year that made it 8-1. Sam Moll then entered the game in the 9th inning, making his season debut in the process. The lefty had to work around two singles, but he tossed a shutout inning to deal the win.
Key Moment of the Game
Fernando Cruz entering the game in the 5th inning and stranding all three runners on the bases. That was the opportunity for the Phillies to get back in the game and he slammed that door.
Notes Worth Noting
Santiago Espinal had a 3-hit night. He had been 1-for the last seven games.
Will Benson went 1-4, snapping an 0-18 skid.
Reds relievers threw 58 pitches and 41 of those were for strikes (71%).
The top four hitters in the lineup went 1-16. They did manage two walks and one hit by pitch.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies vs Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday April 24th, 6:40pm ET
Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 1.23 ERA) vs Nick Lodolo (2-0, 0.75 ERA)
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