Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott guide Reds to win against division-leading Cubs
The Cincinnati Reds needed big performances from star players against the division-leading Chicago Cubs, and they got them.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs and Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott was at his efficient, effective best in a 6-4 Reds win Saturday at Great American Ball Park before a crowd of 40,409.
Advertisement
The win for the Reds (25-26) halted a three-game losing skid to NL Central foes, and marked a strong response less than 24 hours after surrendering a four-run lead in an eventual lopsided series-opening loss to Chicago (31-21) on Friday.
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) runs the bases after hitting a homer in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Downtown Cincinnati.
Some might say it's too early to emphasize the standings, especially for a Reds team that's been around .500 for more of 2025. But Cincinnati's current stretch of 12 of 15 games against NL Central opposition, including six games against the front-running Cubs, could be pivotal to setting Cincinnati up for possible contention later this summer.
Saturday's win moved the Reds to a 2-2 record in the 15-game stretch, which also includes a road series against the Kansas City Royals next week.
Advertisement
Just as they did Friday night, the Reds jumped on Chicago in the first inning on Saturday. De La Cruz took Cubs starter Colin Rea to the right field bleacher for a two-run home run to open the scoring. The homer was De La Cruz's ninth of 2025.
In the third inning, the Cubs got on the scoreboard via Justin Turner's solo home run to left-center field. That would prove to be the only real blemish on Abbott's day as he went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just the one run. He also scattered five other hits, struck out two and walked two on 83 pitches.
Abbott (4-0) lowered his ERA to 1.77.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott (41) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Downtown Cincinnati.
The Reds fired back at Chicago in the bottom of the third inning. Will Benson drove a ball to the right-center field wall, falling just short of what would have been a three-run homer. Still, the ball carried far enough to drive in Gavin Lux via sacrifice fly. That put the Reds up, 3-1.
Advertisement
Cincinnati tacked on in the fifth inning. De La Cruz drove in two more runs on a single, and later scored himself on Spencer Steer's two-out RBI single.
De La Cruz finished his day at the plate 2-for-3, with the four RBI, two runs and a walk.
The Cubs chipped away, tacking on one run apiece in the seventh and eighth innings against Graham Ashcraft and Tony Santillan, Friday's losing pitcher.
Unlike on Friday, the Reds bullpen held its mettle, and Emilio Pagán's save marked his 13th of 2025. Pagán saw his way to closing out the contest after he allowed some traffic, including a leadoff home run by Carson Kelly that cut the lead to 6-4 and a one-out double by highly-regarded prospect, Matt Shaw.
Advertisement
As of Saturday evening, Pagán remained third in the NL in saves behind Washington's Kyle Finnegan (15) and San Diego's Robert Suarez (16).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott lead Reds to win vs. division-leading Cubs
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
31 minutes ago
- CBS News
Adell homers and Angels sweep A's 6-5 despite Rooker's 2 homers
Jo Adell homered in a wild six-run sixth inning and the Los Angeles Angels overcame two homers by Brent Rooker to beat the Athletics 6-5 on Wednesday and sweep a three-game series. Adell's 13th homer was his sixth in nine games. His two-run shot capped a rally that saw Athletics starter JP Sears ejected after giving way to reliever Grant Holman (4-2) with one out. Holman walked Mike Trout on a 3-2 pitch he believed was a strike to load the bases. Holman hit Taylor Ward to bring in a run and Jorge Soler followed with a two-RBI single. That's when Sears was tossed after yelling animatedly from the dugout. Osvaldo Bido relieved Holman and Travis d'Arnaud gave the Angels the lead with a sacrifice fly. Adell followed with homer. Rooker's two-run homer in the seventh, his 15th this season, cut the Angels' lead to 6-5. He had four hits including a double. He scored three runs and drove in three. Kyle Hendricks (4-6) went six innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits. Reid Detmers pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. The A's have lost 23 of 27 games. The Athletics' Jacob Wilson, second in the majors with a .366 average, missed his second straight game with a sore hamstring. Key moment Soler's two-run groundball single somehow evaded the Athletics' diving middle infielders to tie the game and that's when Sears, in line for a win, boiled over. Key stat The Angels swept a home series for the first time since June 24-26, 2024. That also came against the A's. Up next Luis Severino (1-6, 4.77) will pitch for the Athletics against Cole Ragans (2-3, 5.18) on Friday. The Angels' Jack Kochanowicz (3-7, 5.61) will throw against Charlie Morton (2-7, 6.59) at Baltimore on Friday.
CBS News
37 minutes ago
- CBS News
Angels' Chris Taylor placed on injured list with broken left hand
The Los Angeles Angels placed Chris Taylor on the 10-day injured list because of a broken left hand on Tuesday, an injury the utility man sustained when he was hit by a pitch a night earlier. Taylor was hit by Tyler Ferguson's 95-mph fastball in the eighth inning of the Angels' 7-4 victory over the Athletics on Monday. He finished the game in right field, but X-rays afterward revealed a fracture that manager Ron Washington said will sideline the 34-year-old veteran indefinitely. A similar injury forced Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts to miss almost two months last season. "He's just been having some bad luck, and it just keeps happening," Washington said of Taylor, who battled a neck injury for much of 2024. "So now all he can do is just get well. But in the game of baseball, things like that happen, and the next guy's got to step up." Taylor, who was released by the Dodgers on May 18, hit .200 (6 for 30) with one homer, three doubles and three RBIs in 10 games with the Angels, but he seemed to be heating up at the plate. He had four hits, including a homer and two doubles, and three RBIs in a pair of weekend games against the Seattle Mariners. Taylor was replaced on the active roster by utility man LaMonte Wade Jr., a veteran utility man who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Sunday for a player to be named or cash. Wade, 31, batted .167 (24 for 144) with one homer, eight doubles and 15 RBIs in 50 games for the Giants this season. Though he has extensive big league experience at first base, Washington said Wade will play mostly corner outfield for the Angels.
Forbes
37 minutes ago
- Forbes
Rising American Cricketer Sanjay Krishnamurthi Set To Be Homegrown Hero For San Francisco
San Francisco Unicorns batter Sanjay Krishnamurthi is an American cricketer on the rise. Three years ago, Sanjay Krishnamurthi was high in the terraces of the iconic Coliseum amid a rabid Athletics fanbase soaking in MLB action with the stunning Oakland Hills in the background. Back then the starry-eyed teenager was in the very early stages of being a professional cricketer having made his international debut for the U.S. in an One-Day International against Oman in September 2021. However, the febrile atmosphere left Krishnamurthi feeling somewhat melancholy as he dreamt of playing cricket, a global bat and ball sport but relatively invisible in the congested sports market of the U.S, in such surroundings. 'I remember thinking if only cricket can get to this level in the U.S. that would be amazing,' Krishnamurthi told me in an interview. On Thursday, the recently turned 22-year-old Krishnamurthi will step onto the hallowed Coliseum turf as a member of San Francisco Unicorns in the much-hyped Major League Cricket's season launch against defending champions Washington Freedom. After the MLC's first two seasons were consigned to Dallas and Morrisville, North Carolina, the match represents Unicorns' first official home ground with more than 12,000 fans expected to attend. Playing at such a treasured site is considered a game-changer for the well-heeled MLC and cricket's exposure in the U.S. It is currently only a one-season arrangement with the Coliseum to host three home Unicorns games and nine overall. But the development made a widespread splash with the announcement widely reported, including in The New York Times, Axios and mainstream media in the Bay Area. 'The Coliseum has such a rich history and to think that we're playing there is really cool,' said Krishnamurthi,who will be playing his second season of MLC. 'I'm so excited to be playing in front of home fans and also my friends and family.' There are big dreams for cricket in the U.S, with the sport to end its 128-year Olympic drought at the Los Angeles Games. But the initial steps have been rather modest. Cricket will be played at the LA Olympics (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) The long-awaited arrival of MLC, along with hosting big events such as last year's T20 World Cup and playing at the Coliseum, has hoped to introduce the sport to those who only know cricket as a pesky insect or confuse it for that other rather quaint well-to-do British sport - croquet. 'I told my eye doctor recently that I'm playing in a cricket tournament and she said 'I heard they are playing at the Oakland Coliseum',' Krishnamurthi said. "She's East Asian, so you wouldn't expect her to have heard of cricket. I think that was pretty cool. 'One of my friends saw my face on some Unicorns branding selling rice at a grocery store,' he added amid a chuckle. 'So people start seeing that around and that just means awareness is growing.' While MLC has been able to reel in top players from powerhouse cricket nations such as Australia and England, giving it heft and pizzazz amid a saturated cricket circuit, its ultimate success in the U.S. will be determined by creating hometown heroes. Major League Cricket has brought in many top cricketers from around the world (AP Photo/LM Otero) Hard-hitting, spinning allrounder Krishnamurthi fits the bill having been passed on the love of cricket from his India-born father. While his schoolmates were more interested in shooting hoops, throwing a football or pitching, Arizona-raised Krishnamurthi was obsessed with cricket and his skills developed quickly after he moved to India with his parents as an eight-year-old. Krishnamurthi eventually returned to the U.S. seeking greater playing opportunities and also to study computer science at San Jose State University, where most of his classmates are seemingly oblivious that they hit the books with an international cricketer. 'I think most of my classmates have no idea,' Krishnamurthi laughed. "But after last MLC, the university posted a pretty nice article on me on their main page. 'I think that gave me a little bit of attention within the university, but yeah…still pretty anonymous.' While he eyes batting in the top-order, Krishnamurthi is making his mark for the U.S. in international cricket at No.7 in the finisher role. In what is arguably the hardest role in the batting-order in white-ball cricket, Krishnamurthi's power-hitting and ability to clear the boundaries makes him a natural. He posted his first international half-century in last month's ODI against Canada in Lauderhill, Florida, followed by an unbeaten 40 off 27 against Oman marked by a trio of huge sixes. Sanjay Krishnamurthi has starred for U.S. recently (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty ... More Images) 'Last winter I went to India and I did a lot of work on my power hitting,' Krishnamurthi said. "I'm embracing it. I do feel like I have that power element in my game that I can come down the order and that's what they (the U.S. hierarchy) see in me. 'But I'm hoping to eventually bat up the order and get to face a few more balls.' Krishnamurthi's cavalier batting is set to make him a fan favorite in the MLC and he looms as a key cog in Unicorns' line-up, boosted by a slew of recruits including young Australian internationals Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett. The fledgling MLC has already proven invaluable experience for American players, who are sponges when mingling with some of the biggest stars of the sport. Last season, Krishnamurthi rubbed shoulders with legendary Australia captain Pat Cummins and dynamic Australia batter Josh Inglis, whose inventive batting has become a prototype in the shorter formats. 'Pat's so simple with his mindset and super prepared that he takes the emotions out of it once he has bowled the ball. I found that so insightful,' Krishnamurthi said of Cummins, who is not playing MLC this season due to international commitments. 'Josh was pretty incredible because he accesses areas that I can't even think of accessing with his reverse flicks and scoops, so he's a batter that I really tried to learn from.' Krishnamurthi will enter the season full of confidence and a breakout looms for an emerging cricketer who could soon find himself in demand on the T20 franchise circuit. Flamboyant but mature - Krishnamurthi's is also starting to handle with ease his growing media commitments - the talented youngster might just be the tonic American cricket needs to start making waves at home and beyond. 'We hope to one day win a World Cup and that can be a reality because there are a lot of talented cricketers in the U.S,' he said. "We just need more exposure and that will help us get better. 'The MLC gives us a chance to mix it with some of the best players in the world and I'm excited to try to help Unicorns win the title.'
