CINCINNATI -- The Reds wouldn't mind adding some lineup protection behind Elly De La Cruz before Thursday's Trade Deadline. In the meantime, De La Cruz is taking care of business at the plate himself -- and helping his team do the same in the win column.
It was De La Cruz who came through with a nice piece of hitting that helped lead the Reds to their third straight win. His two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning provided the go-ahead runs of a 6-2 victory over the Rays on Saturday at Great American Ball Park, a win that secured the first two games of the three-game series.
Cincinnati has won nine of its last 13 to improve to 55-50 while remaining just one game out of the third National League Wild Card spot.
“We’re playing really good. We’ve got something going on. We’ve just got to keep pushing," De La Cruz said. "You can see it in the games. As a group, we’re together and taking care of each other.”
It was a 2-2 game in the bottom of the seventh inning when some solid plate discipline set the Reds up for a rally. Spencer Steer drew a leadoff walk and TJ Friedl followed with a two-out free pass of his own against Rays reliever Bryan Baker. Lefty Garrett Cleavinger replaced Baker during Matt McLain's plate appearance after a right calf injury, and after inheriting a 1-2 count, walked him to load the bases.
A switch-hitter batting from the right side, De La Cruz was in a quick 0-2 count but battled back to 3-2. On the payoff pitch -- a Cleavinger slider that came up and over the plate -- he lifted a two-run single to center field for the lead.
"I know I got 0-2 real quick but I just never give up. I keep fighting and I got a hit," De La Cruz said. “Everybody loves the big moments. I like hitting with the bases loaded. You’ve got to make something. If you hit the ball, something is going to happen.”
De La Cruz is batting .500 (7-for-14) this season with the bases loaded. He also hit a ground-rule double to left field off Rays starter Ryan Pepiot in the first inning.
“A tough out," Pepiot said. "I think over the course of the past couple of years, he’s gotten a lot better at decision-making. Makes it even tougher."
Although he is without a home run in 26 consecutive games -- one shy of his career-high drought from 2023 -- De La Cruz is still providing offense. Over his last 13 games, the two-time All-Star is slashing .362/.483/.553 with 10 runs and six stolen bases.
“It’s just the patience that he has," said bench coach Freddie Benavides, who took over in the dugout after manager Terry Francona was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes. "He’s seeing the ball really well over the last couple of weeks, the last couple of months actually. It was a great at-bat and he put it in play and great things happened.”
In the eighth inning, the Reds added on with four more hits, including RBI singles by Friedl and McLain that plated two insurance runs.
Until De La Cruz's big hit, the Reds had only two hits for the game. It highlighted the need for a more consistent offense that would better help position the club for the stretch run. But a game like this also underscored how they're making the most of opportunities -- especially after drawing eight walks.
“We’re playing really good baseball right now," starting pitcher Andrew Abbott said. "I think we’ve kind of sat down and had the discussion as a team to keep stacking series wins. Let’s keep doing the little things we can control. Obviously, we’re trying to put ourselves in the situation to be buyers, to be in the playoffs and we’re right on the door knocking.”
Continuing his All-Star-level season, Abbott pitched well, allowing one earned run and two hits across six innings. But the lack of offense made it seem as if he was going to pay the price for a Yandy Díaz home run that opened the top of the sixth inning. In the no-decision, Abbott walked three while striking out seven.
“We’re really just focusing on the things we can do to try and get in there and playing well all the way to the end," Abbott said. "And hopefully at the end, we’re in the postseason.”