Elly De La Cruz drilled a 450-foot home run to center and added an electrifying inside-the-parker to help the Cincinnati Reds hold off the visiting Milwaukee Brewers for a 10-8 victory on Monday night.
After seeing his 13-game hitting streak dating back to last season come to an end on Sunday, De La Cruz got back on track with three hits for his first multi-hit game of the season. His 450-foot blast came off J.B. Bukauskas in the fifth.
Then, facing Bryan Hudson with one out in the seventh, De La Cruz sent a sinking liner to center that Sal Frelick dove for but couldn’t reach. As the ball passed him and rolled on the grass, De La Cruz raced around the bases for his first career inside-the-park homer.
The home run provided the Reds with a much-needed lift after they watched an 8-0 lead dwindle to one run, 9-8, entering the bottom of the seventh.
Will Benson added a second-inning homer and a fourth-inning RBI double off Milwaukee starter and loser Aaron Ashby (0-1).
Benson was moved from right field to designated hitter 90 minutes before first pitch after Jonathan India was struck in the left leg by a line drive during warm-ups.
Stuart Fairchild, who took over in right for the Reds, made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game in the sixth, robbing Willy Adames of a home run.
The Brewers nearly rallied from their eight-run deficit, getting two-run homers from Brice Turang and Christian Yelich on their way to pulling within one in the seventh, where Lucas Sims eventually came on to record three outs and protect the lead.
Graham Ashcraft (1-1) was dominant over the first four innings, allowing only an infield single. Ashcraft was then tagged for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in his final 1 2/3 innings.
Sims, Fernando Cruz and Alexis Diaz each pitched an inning of scoreless relief, with Diaz earning his second save of the season.
Ashby gave up eight runs (four earned) and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media