Ellie De La Cruz hit a long home run and had three RBIs, Spencer Steer scored three runs and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5.
CINCINNATI – Ellie De La Cruz hit a long home run and had three RBIs, Spencer Steer scored three runs and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5 on Monday night.
Two-run doubles from Steer and Stuart Fairchild gave the Reds five runs in the fourth inning after they had scored just three runs in two of three losses to the Pirates in Pittsburgh last week.
Reds outfielder Levi Jordan, making his major league debut at age 28, got his first RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. He got his first hit in the sixth inning, a double off the wall in right field, and finally scored.
“It was everything I expected and more,” said Jordan, whose parents were in the stands for his debut. “I’ve never been in a situation where people cheered me on just for a debut. That’s a goosebumps-worthy moment.”
De La Cruz’s big hit also came in the sixth inning, on a one-out double by Jonathan India. The 22-year-old shortstop hit a 1-0 cutter from reliever Daulton Jefferies 439 feet into a seating area atop the building shaped like a man-made riverboat that houses the batter’s eye in center field.
“India and I talked in training before the game about how no one up there can hit the ball,” said De La Cruz.
India said the two would tease each other during batting practice about who could hit the ball the furthest.
“I said, ‘You can’t even hit the boat.’ And then he did it in the game and I was speechless,” India said. “I can’t believe he did it.”
Carson Spires (1-1), making only his second starter this season, took Cincinnati through six innings, allowing three runs and six hits, striking out five players and picking up his first major league win.
Pirates starter Bailey Falter (3-6) shut down Cincinnati in the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth inning and eventually allowed four earned runs and five hits.
“I think the first time he went (in the lineup), he executed the fastball well in the top of the zone and in the inner part of the plate,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It looked like the ball slid back to the middle in the fourth inning. That’s why we saw the hard contact.”
Bryan Reynolds scored the first run for the Pirates with a two-out single in the third inning, extending his hitting streak to 21 games, the longest active streak in the Major League.
Oneil Cruz hit a two-run home run for Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh had all bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning, but Justin Wilson sealed the deal with a strikeout of Nick Gonzales.
TRAINING ROOM
Pirates: RHP Dennis Santana had to leave the game after being hit in the right arm by a line drive.
Reds: CF TJ Friedl was placed on the 10-day injured list after straining his right hamstring while catching a pike last week in Pittsburgh. He is expected to be out at least a couple of weeks.
NEXT
The Pirates will send right-hander Mitch Keller (8-4, 3.11 ERA) to the mound to face the Reds’ right-hander Hunter Greene (5-2, 4.35) as the series continues Tuesday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
