A first, after 400-odd games
Elly De La Cruz reached the majors in June 2023 and has spent every day since being described as the most watchable player in the National League. Until overnight, he had never ended a game with a hit. The 24-year-old led off the 10th inning against Justin Bruihl, worked the count to 3-2, and drove a sweeper hard into left field to score automatic runner Tyler Stephenson from second. Reds 6, Cardinals 5, and a first career walk-off finally on the record.
The context makes it sharper. De La Cruz went 0-for-4 in the afternoon game and walked into the nightcap hitting .114 over his previous 12 games, 5-for-44. He finished 2-for-4. Slumps end in odd places.
Try it for $0.99.
Cincinnati needed two comebacks, not one
The 10th only mattered because of the ninth. Dane Myers, who had already homered in the opener, came off the bench with two outs and drove his fifth home run of the season off Peter Strzelecki, who was working his third inning of relief. Emilio Pagan then handled the 10th, walking one and striking out two to move to 5-1.
Before that, the Reds had spent the night chasing. Rhett Lowder matched a career high with 6 2/3 innings but gave up two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Ivan Herrera opened the fourth with his 14th homer, and Masyn Wynn’s two-out single put St. Louis ahead. Nathan Church and Blaze Jordan added the sixth-inning damage.
Cincinnati answered with three in the sixth off Andre Pallante, built on a Michael Toglia double and a two-run single from Hector Rodriguez. Bryan Torres restored the Cardinals’ lead with a two-out single off Brock Burke in the eighth.
Small numbers worth noticing
JJ Bleday went 3-for-4, his fourth three-hit game of the season and his first since May 26. Eugenio Suarez matched him at 3-for-3, his first since April 15, driving in one and scoring another. Two players rediscovering their swing on the same night is not nothing for a lineup that managed one run and three hits in the opener.
St. Louis leaves with a split and a strong individual line from Jordan Walker, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and finished 5-for-9 across the doubleheader. Three more games remain in this five-game set at Great American Ball Park.
Discover the rest of our MLB news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply