KANSAS CITY, MO – Elly De La Cruz put on a power display with two towering home runs and former Kansas City Royal Brady Singer delivered seven strong innings as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Royals 7-2 on Tuesday night.
De La Cruz ignited the Reds’ offense, launching a 436-foot shot to center field in the fourth inning off Jonathan Bowlan, tying the game at 2. He followed that up in the sixth with a go-ahead 451-foot blast into the right-center fountain off Taylor Clarke (1-1). De La Cruz now boasts 11 home runs on the season and has tied Pete Rose’s Reds record for switch-hitters with five multi-homer games, including two this year.
Singer (6-3), who was acquired by the Reds from the Royals in November, stifled his former club, allowing just two runs on seven singles through seven innings. He retired 14 of his final 16 batters, matching his season high for innings pitched.
The Reds initially got on the board with a Tyler Stephenson home run in the second inning. However, the Royals responded in the bottom half with RBI singles from Kyle Isbel and Jonathan India.
Cincinnati extended its lead in the eighth inning in an unconventional fashion. TJ Friedl singled to lead off the inning and scored from first on an infield squibber. A rushed throw by pitcher John Schreiber bounced into right field for an error. De La Cruz was then intentionally walked before Schreiber issued walks to Stephenson and Spencer Steer, pushing across another run.
Looking ahead, Reds right-hander Hunter Greene (4-2, 2.54 ERA) is scheduled to face Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (1-1, 0.93 ERA) in Wednesday’s game. Pregame coverage on Superstar Country 102.5 FM & 1530 AM KQNK begins at 6:00 p.m. with first pitch from Kauffman Stadium set for 6:40 p.m.
