Things are going so well for the Reds these days — and Elly De La Cruz has so much power — that the rookie can miss a shot and still clear the fence.
De La Cruz had three hits as the club’s top prospect, TJ Friedl and Will Benson sank in an 8-6 victory over the Rockies at Great American Ball Park that extended Cincinnati’s first-place winning streak to 10 games. It’s the club’s longest streak since 2012, which is also the last time the Reds won the NL Central.
Colorado led 1-0 on Nolan Jones’ homer off Reds starter Ben Lively before the offense responded to give the club its 24th victory in its comeback, tied for the most in MLB.
There were two outs in the bottom of the second inning when Rockies starter Noah Davis walked No. 8 and No. 9 hitters Benson and Curt Casali. In a 1-0 sinker, Friedl hit a three-run home run to right-center field and the Reds never looked back.
With one out in the bottom of the third, De La Cruz swung Davis’ first pitch to the opposite side in left field. The ball hit the top edge of the barrel but made it far enough into the front row of seats for the rookie’s second major league home run and first since June 7, his second game.
De La Cruz’s speed helped close out the game in the fifth against reliever Peter Lambert. He hit a one-out comeback at 101.5 mph from the pitcher and had a single, but Lambert’s erroneous throw moved De La Cruz to second base. Lambert’s error pickoff throw to second base gave De La Cruz third base and he scored easily on Jake Fraley’s RBI double.