Elly De La Cruz hit two long home runs and Cincinnati got a strong start from Brady Singer against his old club in Kansas City on Tuesday night. Those two things along with a couple of late-inning runs helped lead the Reds to a 7-2 win over the Royals and get the team back to the .500 mark on the season.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (28-28) | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| Kansas City Royals (29-27) | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Singer (6-3) L: Clarke (1-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Tyler Stephenson got the scoring going in the game with a 1-out solo home run to center in the top of the 2nd inning to make it 1-0. The Reds next two hitters reached base safely but ran themselves into outs as Spencer Steer was caught stealing and then Gavin Lux was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.
Both of those mistakes may have mattered quite a bit because in the bottom of the inning the Royals offense went to work against Brady Singer with a 2-out rally that saw them get three consecutive singles from Michael Massey, Kyle Isbel, and Jonathan India to take a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the 4th inning Elly De La Cruz got a 95 MPH fastball down in the zone on a full count from Jonathan Bowlan, but it wasn’t down enough as the Reds shortstop crushed it 436 feet to center for a leadoff home run – his 10th of the season – to tie the game up at 2-2.
Cincinnati found themselves in a good situation to add to their lead in the next inning when Jose Trevino picked up a 1-out single and was followed by back-to-back walks to load the bases. The Royals went to their bullpen for the second time on the evening at that point and brought in Taylor Clarke. He needed just two pitches to induce a double play from Santiago Espinal to squash the really and keep the game tied up.
An inning later the road team was able to take the lead. Elly De La Cruz got ahead 1-0 and then got a 94 MPH fastball in the middle of the zone and he didn’t miss it. His second home run of the day went 451 feet and landed in the second level of the waterfall in right-center. Brady Singer held onto the lead for the next two innings as he finished off the 7th inning with his 99th pitch that resulted in a lazy fly out by Bobby Witt Jr.
Cincinnati would add on in the 8th inning with a little help from the Royals. TJ Friedl led off with a single. Santiago Espinal then made some weak contact, but the ball trickled towards the second baseman when the pitcher made a sliding attempt and then throw from his knees, only to throw the ball by the first baseman. Friedl, who was on his way to third just kept on running and raced in to score on the play.
Kansas City opted to walk Elly De La Cruz instead of pitch to him. After a strikeout by Austin Hays, John Schreiber walked both Tyler Stephenson and Spencer Steer. That latter walk brought in the Reds 5th run of the day and led to another Royals pitching change. With a lefty now on the mound Cincinnati turned to Matt McLain to pinch hit and he grounded into a force out, but drove in another run and extended the lead to 6-2.
After Tony Santillan worked a scoreless bottom of the 8th inning, the Reds offense went back to work. TJ Friedl picked up another single and he came around to score when Santiago Espinal doubled into the left field corner. Ian Gibaut took over for the bottom of the 9th with a 5-run last and was looking to close the game out against the bottom of the lineup. The Royals picked up a single in the frame but that was all they could do as Gibaut shut things down to seal the 7-2 win, series win, and get Cincinnati back to an even 28-28 on the year.
Key Moment of the Game
The 3-run 8th inning by the Reds, giving them some wiggle room to work with.
Notes Worth Noting
Elly De La Cruz hit 886 feet worth of home runs on the night.
TJ Friedl got on base four times thanks to three singles and a walk. His big night raised his line to .299/.381/.413. The walk gave Friedl 26 of them on the season, which matches his total from last season.
Brady Singer had his 4th quality start of the year in this one. In 10 of his 11 starts his ERA is 3.67. But his 7-run, 2.1 inning outing against Houston has his season ERA nearly a run higher than that – finishing the day at 4.60.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Kansas City Royals
Wednesday, May 28th, 7:40pm ET
Hunter Greene (4-2, 2.54 ERA) vs Noah Cameron (1-1, 0.93 ERA)
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