The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 12-6 on Tuesday at Tropicana Field, hitting five home runs including two from Elly De La Cruz. The victory extended their winning streak to five games and improved their road record to 10-2 this season. De La Cruz drove in five runs and surpassed Pete Rose for the most multi-homer games by a Reds switch-hitter.
Cincinnati has won seven of its last eight games and sits first in its division with a 16-8 overall record. The Reds entered the night last in MLB in batting average and slugging percentage, and 29th in OPS, relying heavily on production from Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and Eugenio Suárez. Against Rays lefty Steven Matz, De La Cruz opened the scoring with a two-run homer to right-center in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. He added a solo shot in the ninth off infielder Ben Williamson, marking his sixth career multi-homer game and passing Pete Rose's mark for switch-hitters in Reds history. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers hit back-to-back solo homers in the second to make it 4-0, with Spencer Steer adding another in the fifth. The Reds batted around in the sixth for four runs, highlighted by Matt McLain's RBI double and Stewart's two-run single. Myers capped the inning with a daring slide at home on De La Cruz's RBI fielder's choice grounder. Myers faked inside with his left foot before cutting outside to evade catcher Hunter Feduccia's tag, drawing comparisons to a basketball Euro step. Starter Chase Burns pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He carried a shutout into the sixth before Jonathan Aranda's two-run homer. Burns improved to 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA.
