Postgame Takeaways: Reds Beat Pirates 5-2 Behind Elly De La Cruz's Grand Slam

The Cincinnati Reds (7-8) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (5-10) 5-2 on Saturday night at Great American Ball Park. Here are our postgame takeaways:

A Grand Slam on Your Bobblehead Day?

On a night where thousands of fans stood in the cold to get an Elly De La Cruz bobblehead, De La Cruz put on a show for them.

In the third inning with the game tied at 0 and the bases loaded, De La Cruz sent the crowd into a frenzy when hit a 3-2 fastball into the left seats to give the Reds a 4-0 lead.

After the Pirates brought it within two runs in the seventh, Jose Trevino grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Noelvi Marte to give Cincinnati an insurance run.

The Reds had just four hits on the night.

Abbott Impresses in Debut

After missing the first three starts through the rotation, Andrew Abbott returned on Saturday and impressed.

The left-hander threw five innings of one-run baseball, allowing just two hits. He walked two batters and struck out five.

Bullpen Shuts It Down

Scott Barlow gave up a run in his 2/3 of an inning, but Ian Gibaut and Tony Santillan both had scoreless appearances.

In the ninth, Emilio Pagan pitched a 1-2-3 inning for his fourth save of the season.

News and Notes

The Reds have won four of their last five games.
The Reds improved to 2-4 when facing a left-handed starter.
The Reds went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
The Reds are now 6-3 in night games compared to 1-5 in day games.
The Reds are 4-1 when scoring five or more runs.

Up Next

The Reds will face the Pirates in the series finale on Sunday at 1:40 ET. Hunter Greene will start on the mound for Cincinnati.

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