Elly De La Cruz recorded his sixth career multi-homer game and drove in five runs, fueling the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
De La Cruz launched a two-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the ninth to boost his homer total to eight on the season and sixth while batting right-handed. He had five homers in 199 at-bats while hitting right-handed in 2025.
De La Cruz also had a fielder’s choice as part of a four-run sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh.
Cincinnati’s Ke’Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers launched back-to-back homers in the second inning and Spencer Steer added a solo shot in the fifth.
Rookie Sal Stewart had a two-run single and a sacrifice fly for the Reds, who improved to 10-2 away from home after winning five in a row to start a six-game road trip.
Chase Burns (2-1) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight batters in 5 2/3 innings. His lone blemish was Jonathan Aranda’s two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Aranda and Ben Williamson each added a bases-loaded walk and Jonny DeLuca had a two-run double in the ninth inning for Tampa Bay, which has been outscored 24-10 during its three-game losing streak.
Myers worked a leadoff walk in the first inning and De La Cruz deposited a 2-0 sinker from Steven Matz (3-1) over the wall in right-center field to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead.
Cincinnati doubled its advantage as Hayes and Myers each went deep with two outs in the second inning.
Steer continued the power display in the fifth inning by sending a 1-1 fastball from Griffin Jax over the wall in left-center field.
Matz struggled to find the zone, tossing just 44 of his 77 pitches for strikes before exiting after three innings. He permitted four runs on as many hits with four walks.
The Reds put the game out of reach in the sixth inning.
Matt McLain ripped an RBI double and Myers scored after he used a swim move to deftly elude the tag of catcher Hunter Feduccia on De La Cruz’s fielder’s choice. McLain and De La Cruz promptly stole a base before coming home on Stewart’s two-run single to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 9-0.
–Field Level Media
