Postgame Takeaways: Elly De La Cruz Has Career Night, Reds Beat Rangers 14-3

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Texas Rangers 14-3 on Monday night. Here are our postgame takeaways:

Batman and Robin Lead the Offense

Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain combined to go 6-8 with 10 RBI and three home runs on Monday night.

In the first inning, after a TJ Friedl single, Matt McLain hit his third home run of the season to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Gavin Lux doubled home De La Cruz later in the inning to give the Reds a 3-0 advantage.

In the second inning, with Jose Trevino and Matt McLain on second base, Elly De La Cruz hit a Kumar Rocker slider 418 feet for his first home run of the season.

The duo wasn't done yet. In the sixth, McLain hit a bases-loaded single to give the Reds a 7-0 advantage. De La Cruz followed with a two-run double.

Spencer Steer and Jake Fraley added RBI singles to give Cincinnati a six-run sixth inning.

In the seventh, with McLain on base, De La Cruz stepped up to the plate, needing a triple for the cycle. Instead, the 23-year-old hit the batter's eye with his second home run of the game.

The Reds offense scored 14 runs on 14 hits. They also walked four times.

Brady Singer Impresses in First Start

Brady Singer made his first regular-season start since being traded to the Reds in the offseason for Jonathan India.

He did not disappoint.

Singer gave up just one hit over seven scoreless innings. He walked two batters and struck out eight.

The Reds could not have asked for more from the 28-year-old in his first start.

News and Notes

Christian Encarnacion-Strand left the game in the seventh inning after being hit in the hand by a pitch. Terry Francona mentioned that x-rays were negative after the game.
Sam Moll gave up one run in his lone inning of work.
Brent Suter gave up two runs in his inning of work.
Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl both stole their first base of the season.
The Reds went 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next

The Reds face the Rangers in game two of the series on Tuesday at 6:40 ET. Carson Spiers will start on the mound for the Reds.

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