De La Cruz anniversary HR keys Reds win over Cubs
Published 10:34 pm Thursday, June 6, 2024
CINCINNATI (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer on the anniversary of his major league debut and the Cincinnati Reds won a season-high fifth straight game, 8-4 over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night.
TJ Friedl, Jonathan India and Will Benson also drove in runs as the Reds followed a three-game sweep in Colorado with a win over the NL Central rival Cubs in the first of a four-game series.
Hunter Greene (4-2) struck out eight while allowing four runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Three Reds relievers combined to keep the Cubs hitless the rest of the way, with closer Alexis Diaz issuing a walk before striking out three straight batters to end it.
Home runs accounted for all of Chicago’s runs, a two-run, upper-deck blast by Seiya Suzuki in the third inning and a 415-foot, two-run shot to center by Christopher Morel in the sixth.
Cubs starter Javier Assad (4-2) allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Reliever Porter Hodge’s third straight walk forced in a run with two outs in the Reds’ seventh, and Will Benson followed with a two-run single to right to extend the Cincinnati lead.
The 22-year-old De La Cruz got the Reds on the board in the third inning with his team-leading 11th homer of the year, a shot to right field that came off the bat at 114.7 mph.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RHP Emilio Pagán (right triceps tightness) was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Right-handed starter Graham Ashcraft (4-3, 5.05 ERA) was sent to Triple-A Louisville to make room on the roster. The 26-year-old Ashcraft has failed to pitch through six innings in his last six starts.
UP NEXT
The Cubs send lefty Justin Steele (0-2, 4.10 ERA, 36 Ks) to the mound to face Reds lefty Nick Lodolo (5-2, 3.11, 49 Ks) as the series continues on Friday night.
Chicago | Cincinnati | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||||
Tauchman rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Friedl cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Suzuki dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | De La Cruz ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
Bellinger 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Candelario 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Morel 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Dunn pr-lf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Happ lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Steer 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Hoerner 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fraley dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Swanson ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stephenson c | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
Crw-Armstrong cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hurtubise lf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Amaya c | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Espinal 3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Busch ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | India 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
Benson rf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
Totals | 32 | 4 | 5 | 4 | Totals | 30 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
Chicago | 002 | 002 | 000 | — | 4 |
Cincinnati | 003 | 002 | 30x | — | 8 |
LOB–Chicago 5, Cincinnati 7. 2B–Suzuki (7), Bellinger (11), Friedl (2). HR–Suzuki (7), Morel (12), De La Cruz (11). SB–Hoerner (7), Tauchman (5), Benson (9). S–Hurtubise 2 (4).
IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
---|
Chicago | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assad L,4-2 | 5 | 2-3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Little | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
Hodge | 2-3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
Hendricks | 1 | 1-3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cincinnati | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greene W,4-2 | 6 | 2-3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Cruz H,11 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Moll | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Díaz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
HBP–Greene (Hoerner), Assad (Stephenson). WP–Cruz.
Umpires–Home, Adrian Johnson; First, Junior Valentine; Second, Ramon De Jesus; Third, David Rackley.
T–2:33. A–25,601 (43,891).