Cincinnati Reds Beat Milwaukee Brewers in Wild 10-8 Series Opener

The Reds never trailed on Monday night

Author:
James Rapien
Apr 09, 2024

In this story:

Cincinnati Reds

Milwaukee Brewers

Elly De La Cruz

CINCINNATI — The Reds beat the Brewers 10-8 on Monday night to improve to 6-4 on the season.

Cincinnati never trailed in the game. Elly De La Cruz stole the show with two home runs, including an inside-the-park homer that electrified the home crowd. He also hit a 450-foot homer off the batter's eye in center field. De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored.

The Reds took a 2-0 lead in second inning after De La Cruz scored on a groundout by Santiago Espinal. Will Benson followed it up with a solo home run. It was his first career homer off of a left handed pitcher.

The Reds did most of their damage in the fourth inning, scoring six runs.

De La Cruz scored again, this time on a throwing error by Joey Ortiz. Tyler Stephenson also scored to make it 4-0. Benson hit a RBI double. Spencer Steer also hit a two-run double and Jeimer Candelario hit a RBI single to make it 8-0.

De La Cruz's first home run made it 9-3. The Brewers rallied to cut the lead to 9-8, but De La Cruz answered with an inside-the-park home run that gave Cincinnati the insurance run they needed.

Alexis Diaz didn't give up a hit in the ninth, picking up his second save of the season. Graham Ashcraft gets the win, despite giving up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Stuart Fairchild had the defensive play of the night when he snagged what would've been a home run off the bat of Willy Adames. Check out that play and both of De La Cruz's home runs below:

Take it away, Stu‼️@stustuuu pic.twitter.com/kbh8RtADvk
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 9, 2024

Imagine thinking he should be in Triple-A .

Is it perfect? No. Are the growing pains worth it for nights like tonight? Absolutely.

Elly De La Cruz is electric🔥🔥 #Reds pic.twitter.com/LPgvjNdwfg
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) April 9, 2024